


Marvel Guide

by buckyslove



Category: Black Panther (2018), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Amazing Spider-Man (Movies - Webb), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-17 09:51:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 96,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14830055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckyslove/pseuds/buckyslove
Summary: Summary broken down to the best I could about Iron man and all his apperences in the MCUI haven't added in comic apperences yet but I will do that soonHUGE spoilers for Infinity War so be warned





	1. Chapter 1

IRON MAN (2008)  
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Billionaire, genius and Stark Industries CEO Howard Stark becomes has his spotlight taken by his son Tony, who amazes the world with his brilliant creations.  
Years later, Howard dies and his company is taken over by Tony, who is about to present the new "Jericho" missile in Afghanistan.  
But there, Stark is attacked and kidnapped by terrorists known as the Ten Rings who order him and doctor Yinsen to build the Jericho, but instead they spend days in the cave creating an arc reactor to keep shrapnel from Stark's heart and armor to escape.  
During the escape, Yinsen is killed and Stark's suit charges and he uses it to defeat the Ten Rings.  
He however crash-lands in the middle of the desert during flight and without his armor he runs in the desert broken down, but is found by his best friend James Rhodes as they return.  
There, Stark announces no more weapons, and it disappoints Obadiah Stane while Stark at home builds a streamlined and newer suit, every day making it more capable of flight.  
After discovering the Ten Rings are using his weapons and Stane had betrayed him, Stark dons his armor to fight the Ten Rings, who later find parts of Stark's prototype suit and contact Stane so he could build them an army of iron soldiers to rule Asia but he betrays them and steals the armor for his own purposes, reverse-engineering it into his own suit.

Stark decides to find out who sent the Ten Rings the weapons, so he sends his assistant Pepper Potts to hack into Stane's computer believing he could have been dealing with them, and she finds out Stane had sent the Ten Rings to kill Stark but they reneged.  
She arrives with S.H.I.E.L.D. to arrest Stane.

Stane's scientists cannot duplicate the ARC Reactor tech so Stane steals Tony's and dons his suit to attack SHIELD and goes after Pepper, but however Tony using his original ARC Reactor saves her and the two warriors battle, and once they get atop the Stark Tower, Tony orders Potts to overload the giant arc reactor to electrocute Stane, defeating him.  
The next day Stark is named "Iron Man" and is advised to keep the identity a secret but reveals it anyways.

 

Iron Man 2 (2010)

In Russia, the news media covers Tony Stark's disclosure of his identity as Iron Man.  
Ivan Vanko, whose father Anton Vanko has just died, sees this and begins building an arc reactor similar to Stark's.

Six months later, Stark has used his armor to help maintain world peace.  
He re-institutes the Stark Expo in Flushing Meadows to continue his father Howard's legacy.  
Senator Stern demands that Stark turn over the Iron Man technology to the government.  
Stark refuses, claiming that foreign nations and business competitors are decades away from recreating his work, and that it is his property.

The Palladium Core in the Arc Reactor that keeps Stark alive and powers the armor is slowly poisoning him, and he has failed to find a substitute.  
Growing increasingly despondent and reckless due to his impending death, and choosing not to tell anyone about his condition, Stark appoints his personal assistant Pepper Potts CEO of Stark Industries, and hires Stark employee Natalie Rushman to replace her as his personal assistant.

While Stark is racing at the Circuit de Monaco, he is attacked by Vanko, who uses his arc reactor to power whip-like energy weapons.  
Stark defeats Vanko with the aid of his portable briefcase armor, and learns that Vanko is the son of his father's old partner, Anton Vanko, who had collaborated with Howard on the first arc reactor.  
Anton was deported to his native Soviet Union following attempts to profit from the technology and died in poverty, explaining Vanko's desire for revenge on the Stark family.

Rival defense contractor Justin Hammer fakes Vanko's death and recruits him to perfect a line of armored suits to upstage Stark.  
Hammer, who equals Stark on narcissism and arrogance, wishes to not only defeat his rival in military contracts, but also wishes to absolutely destroy his legacy.  
At what he believes is his final birthday party, Stark gets drunk while using the Iron Man armor, forcing his friend, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, to intervene. Rhodes dons Stark's Mark II armor and battles Stark.  
The battle ends when the combatants both fire repulsor beams at each other, creating a huge explosion.  
After fighting with Stark, Rhodes delivers the armor to the U.S. military.

Nick Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director, approaches Stark, revealing Rushman as undercover agent Natasha Romanoff and that Howard Stark was a S.H.I.E.L.D. founder whom Fury knew personally.  
Fury gives him some of his father's old material; a hidden message in the diorama of the 1974 Stark Expo proves to be a diagram of the structure of a new element.  
With the aid of his computer J.A.R.V.I.S., Stark synthesizes it.  
Vanko reveals to Stark that he is still alive and seeking revenge so Stark uses the untested element, ending his palladium dependency.

At the Expo, Hammer unveils Vanko's armored drones, led by Rhodes in a heavily weaponized version of the Mark II armor.  
Stark arrives in his new armor to warn Rhodes, but Vanko seizes control of both the drones and Rhodes' armor and attacks Iron Man.  
Hammer is arrested while Romanoff and Stark's bodyguard Happy Hogan attempt to capture Vanko.  
He escapes, but Romanoff returns control of the Mark II armor to Rhodes.

After defeating his drones Stark and Rhodes confront Vanko himself, now in a new and powerful suit of armor.  
Neither can match Vanko, but Vanko is ultimately defeated when they fire repulsor rays at each other, causing yet another huge explosion. With his suit too damaged to continue the fight Vanko activates his suit's self-destruct mechanism, along with that of his drones, apparently killing himself in the process.  
Stark saves Potts from the exploding drones' remains.  
Potts quits as CEO, and she and Stark kiss.

At a debriefing, while news footage of a rampaging Hulk plays, Fury informs Stark that while Iron Man is a suitable candidate for the "Avengers Initiative", he himself is not.  
Stark agrees to serve as a consultant if Senator Stern acts as presenter at a ceremony planned for awarding Stark and Rhodes with medals for bravery, which Stern reluctantly does.

In a post-credits scene, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson reports the discovery of a large hammer at the bottom of a crater in a desert in New Mexico.

 

IRON MAN 3 (2013) Also note this movie is placed after the first avengers movie so if you're confused that's probably why lol

Tony's experiences during the alien invasion of New York are giving him panic attacks.  
Restless, he has built several dozen Iron Man suits, creating friction with his girlfriend Pepper Potts.  
A string of bombings by terrorist the Mandarin has left intelligence agencies bewildered by a lack of forensic evidence.  
When Stark Industries security chief Happy Hogan is badly injured in one such attack, Stark overcomes his stupor and issues a televised threat to the Mandarin, who responds by destroying Stark's home with helicopter gunships.

Maya, who came to warn Tony, survives the attack along with Pepper.  
Tony escapes in the Mark 42 suit, which his artificial intelligence J.A.R.V.I.S. pilots to rural Tennessee, following a flight plan from Stark's investigation into the Mandarin.  
Stark's experimental armor lacks sufficient power to return to California, and the world believes him dead.

Teaming with Harley, a 10-year-old boy, Stark investigates the remains of a local explosion bearing the hallmarks of a Mandarin attack. He discovers the "bombings" were triggered by soldiers subjected to Extremis, which at this stage of development can cause certain subjects to explosively reject it.  
After veterans started exploding, their deaths were used to cover up Extremis' flaws by manufacturing a terrorist plot.  
Stark witnesses Extremis firsthand when Mandarin agents Ellen Brandt and Eric Savin attack him.

With Harley's help, Stark traces the Mandarin to Miami and infiltrates his headquarters using improvised weapons.  
Inside he discovers the Mandarin is actually a British actor named Trevor Slattery, who claims he is oblivious to the actions carried out in his name.  
The Mandarin is actually a creation of Killian, who appropriated Hansen's Extremis research as a cure for his own disability and expanded the program to include injured war veterans.  
After capturing Stark, Killian reveals he is the real Mandarin; he has kidnapped Potts and subjected her to Extremis to gain Stark's aid in fixing Extremis' flaws and thereby saving Potts.  
Killian kills Hansen when she has a change of heart about the plan.

Killian has also manipulated American intelligence agencies regarding the Mandarin's location, luring James Rhodes—the former War Machine, now re-branded as the Iron Patriot—into a trap to steal the armor.  
Stark escapes and reunites with Rhodes, discovering that Killian intends to attack President Ellis aboard Air Force One.

Remotely controlling his Iron Man armor, Tony saves some surviving passengers and crew but cannot stop Killian from abducting Ellis and destroying Air Force One.  
They trace Killian to an impounded damaged oil tanker where Killian intends to kill Ellis on live television.  
The vice president will become a puppet leader, following Killian's orders in exchange for Extremis to cure a little girl's disability.

On the platform, Tony goes to save Pepper, and Rhodey saves the president.  
Stark summons his Iron Man suits, controlled remotely by J.A.R.V.I.S., to provide air support.  
Rhodes secures the president and takes him to safety, while Stark discovers Potts has survived the Extremis procedure.  
However, before he can save her, a rig collapses around them and she falls to her apparent death.  
Stark confronts Killian who in turn attacks him, breaking three of Stark's suits with his Extremis-granted power.  
Stark, feigning surrender, sends his Mark 42 to trap Killian and blows it up, but fails to kill him.  
Potts, whose Extremis powers allowed her to survive her fall, intervenes and kills Killian.

After the battle, Stark orders J.A.R.V.I.S. to remotely destroy the remaining 21 Iron Man suits, under the order of the Clean Slate Protocol, as a sign of his devotion to Pepper.  
The vice president and Slattery are arrested.  
With Stark's help, Potts' Extremis effects are stabilized, and Stark undergoes surgery to remove the shrapnel embedded near his heart. He pitches his obsolete chest arc reactor into the sea, musing he will always be Iron Man.

In a present day post-credits scene, Tony wakes up Dr. Bruce Banner, who fell asleep listening at the beginning of Stark's story.

BIOGRAPHY (boy this will be long)  
EARLY LIFE - TROUBLED CHILDHOOD

Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark was born on Friday, May 29, 1970, in Manhattan, New York, to Howard and Maria Stark.  
Howard hired a butler named Edwin Jarvis before Tony was born.  
Jarvis became a good friend to Tony as he grew older.  
He watched over Tony throughout all of his childhood.  
Tony's early life was often dominated by the absence of his own father who he would later describe as both 'cold' and 'calculating'.  
Growing up Tony had issues with his father, who Tony has said never told his son that he loved him, or even that he liked him.  
Since Tony was so young, Howard never was able to tell him his plans for him.

Tony's father would constantly talk about his friend Captain America, so that he could inspire Tony to do great things in life, which highly annoyed young Tony Stark.  
When he was four years old, he made his first circuit board.  
When he was almost seven he built a V8 motorbike engine.  
At sixteen, he won the 4th Annual M.I.T. Robot Design Award.  
When Tony was seventeen he graduated MIT at the top of his class.  
He also met James "Rhodey" Rhodes, and they became best friends  
One thing about Tony's childhood that annoyed him was his nanny that cared for him until he was 14.  
While he was in high school, Stark hacked into the Pentagon on a dare by some friends.

LOSING HIS PARENTS

In December 1991, when Tony was just 21, Howard and Maria prepared to go away for a few days and leave him alone, although his father remained skeptical about how responsible Tony would be while they were gone.  
Sadly, they died in a car crash in Long Island.  
Stark became driven in grief for their deaths.  
For a few months, Howard's business partner Obadiah Stane took over as interim CEO of Stark Industries until Tony officially assumed the role shortly after.  
Sometime later, Tony's long-serving family butler, Edwin Jarvis, also died.

CEO OF STARK INDUSTRIES - REBUILDING THE COMPANY

A few months later, Stark inherited Stark Industries, becoming the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 Company in history.  
Having built himself a custom mansion, Stark made an A.I. system that helped out in the house.  
He named the system "Just a Rather Very Intelligent System", shortened J.A.R.V.I.S., in tribute to his late butler Edwin Jarvis whom he had often credited for helping to raise him.

Eventually, James Rhodes joined the United States Air Force and became the liaison between Stark Industries and the United States Armed Forces, successfully earning Stark billions of dollars.  
Under Stark's leadership with the aid of Obadiah Stane, Stark Industries quickly thrived and became one of the most advanced companies in the world, creating new forms of weapons technology that seemed highly futuristic to most looking on at the weapons.

CREATING DEMONS

On New Year's Eve in 1999, Stark, with his scientist paramour Maya Hansen, attended a science conference in Bern, Switzerland.  
There Stark got so drunk he could barely give his speech and rejoined the party as soon as possible.  
While celebrating he met a scientist named Ho Yinsen who introduced him to Doctor Wu, although Stark swiftly dismissed them both and moved through the party.

While moving throughout the hotel with Happy Hogan and Hansen, Stark then arrogantly avoided a gifted but crippled scientist, Aldrich Killian, who wanted Stark's financial backing for his own science company, Advanced Idea Mechanics.  
Once they were alone in an elevator together, Stark then purposely told the excited Killian to meet him on the rooftop of the building to discuss him working with Stark Industries, with the intention of not even turning up.

Back in Hansen's hotel room, Stark looked at her new research into a project known as Extremis which had the potential to regrow human limbs if she could get enough funding. Stark was amazed by the concept, although Hogan was less impressed and played with a nearby plant despite being told not to.  
Stark and Hansen then went to her bedroom where they continued flirting with each other before then leading towards each other for a passionate kiss.

However Hogan inadvertently caused a small explosion by touching the plant, causing a brief moment of panic.  
Stark sent Hogan away and then spent the night with Hansen, leaving Killian freezing on the rooftop and even considering committing suicide out of complete humiliation.  
Stark was unaware of Killian's suffering and woke up the next morning, completed Hansen's formula for her before walking out and returning home, leaving Hansen behind.

TESTING WEAPONS IN ARIZONA

Stark and James Rhodes went to a weapon demonstration at the Yuma Proving Ground.  
Pepper Potts gave the weapon's specifics to the generals while Stark and Rhodes went to a night club.  
Stark enjoyed the company of two girls while Rhodes tried to convince him not to go to Afghanistan for a weapons demonstration.  
Stark was then attacked by a man whose girlfriend he previously seduced, but Rhodes defeated the attacker.  
Stark, Rhodes, and the girls went to Tony Stark's Mansion in order to continue the party.

FIRST DAY OF FREEDOM

After a presentation of Stark's successful past, James Rhodes was given the honor of presenting the Apogee Award to him at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.  
When Obadiah Stane gave Rhodes a signal saying that Stark was not there to receive it, Stane took the award in Stark's honor.  
Shortly after the award ceremony, Rhodes brought Stark the award while he was gambling in the casino inside of Caesars Palace.  
Rhodes got angry at him for not being present.

Right when Stark was just about to leave the hotel with all of his own entourage, Christine Everhart ran up and tried to get an interview with him for her magazine Vanity Fair. Having been told Everhart was attractive, Stark agreed to her interview, all while he deflected her questions with some swift quips.  
Upon being morally questioned, Stark defended his actions and turned to seducing Everhart, as the two ended up at Tony Stark's Mansion where they had sex.

In the morning Stark had left Everhart in his bed to be greeted by J.A.R.V.I.S. and escorted home while he began working on one of his cars.  
His assistant Pepper Potts then arrived and reminded him about his trip to Afghanistan.  
Stark remained complacent, unfazed about being late as it was his own plane therefore it would wait for him.  
Potts then revealed it was her birthday, noting she had used Stark's money to buy a present for herself from him.

Finishing his coffee, Stark then finally left his mansion and drove to the airport followed by his bodyguard Happy Hogan, who struggled to keep up with his boss who drove exceptionally fast.  
He got to the plane three hours late and found Colonel James Rhodes was still there waiting for him to finally turn up, incredibly annoyed to have been left waiting for so long, although Stark was not bothered at all.  
He then got onto the plane and sat down along with Rhodes who tried to discuss business between Stark Industries and the United States Armed Forces while Stark all wanted to do just drink and then relax, much to Rhodes' continued great annoyance.

Despite wanted to discuss his work, Stark managed to convince Rhodes to have a drink with him and before long, he and Rhodes had gotten completely drunk and had a small party on the plane.  
As Rhodes discussed his work in the United States Air Force, Stark completely ignored his friend and focused his attention of the air hostesses who had begun undressing and dancing around a pole in the middle of the plane for both of their entertainment.

PRESENTING THE JERICHO

Touching down in Afghanistan, Stark was greeted by members of the military before he presented Stark Industries' newest weapon, the Jericho missile, to the military spectators and demonstrated its capability.  
Giving a speech, Stark explained that the missile was so powerful that it would only be needed to be fired once to defeat the enemy, noting that was how his father Howard Stark had worked and it was a successful method.  
The missile was fired and Stark received a round of applause from everyone.

After the successful presentation Stark had a drink, noting that the whiskey came with every order of the Jericho missile.  
While all of the various members of the United States Armed Forces celebrated the new deal, Obadiah Stane called Stark to ask how it had gone, with Stark explaining that they would be getting an early Christmas.  
Stark got into a convoy vehicle to leave, sending James Rhodes to another humvee to then go and return to their military base.

As they drove down the road towards the military base, Stark sat with his whiskey while awkward members of the military sat with him and attempted to make small talk.  
Stark teased them, noting that he would have never guessed that the driver was a woman as he was asked all about sleeping with various super models before he was asked to take a selfie.  
Posing for the picture, Stark muttered about loving peace while asking the soldier not to make gang signs.

BECOMING IRON MAN - KIDNAPPING BY THE TEN RINGS

As Stark's convey drove through Afghanistan to return to the United States Armed Forces base, the convoy was suddenly attacked by insurgents, who blew up the car in front trapping them.  
Stark watched in utter horror as the soldiers stepped out only to be gunned down right in front of his own eyes, leaving his ears ringing from the many explosions.  
While soldiers were dying around him, Stark got outside and attempted to find some cover and call for help.

While Stark was using his phone in his attempt to contact someone for assistance, one of Stark Industries' own bombs suddenly landed right by him, Stark saw this and desperately attempted to get away, however he was too slow and the bomb exploded right beside him.  
The resulting blast caused Stark to be thrown backwards and lose consciousness and embedded several pieces of shrapnel into his chest, several fragments dangerously close to his heart.

While falling in and out of consciousness, Stark felt incredible pain as an operation was performed on his chest in an attempt to remove the pieces of shrapnel and save his life. Eventually, Stark dazed away to find himself in front of a camera as some various terrorists were now reading out a ransom note to an unknown viewer while Stark could only look on in dismay with various guns aimed directly at him.  
The shock of seeing this made Stark lose consciousness again.

He woke up some time later to find Ho Yinsen in his cell with him and an electromagnet attached to his chest.  
Hooked up to a car battery, Yinsen explained that the electromagnet kept the shrapnel from entering his heart and killing him.  
Yinsen went on to explained how they had once met in Bern during the 1990s although Stark had been too drunk to remember.  
Just as Stark questioned where they were, someone banged on the door from the other side.

As Yinsen ordered Stark to get onto his feet, they were greeted by Abu Bakaar, who had Yinsen translate as he welcomed Stark as the greatest mass murderer in the entire history of the United States of America.  
Bakaar explained that he now wanted Stark to rebuild the Jericho missile for him, however Stark simply refused to help them.  
As a direct result of refusing to help the Ten Rings, Bakaar had Stark tortured by drowning him in freezing water repeatedly.

Stark was then taken outside of the cave where Bakaar showed him how the Ten Rings had an incredible supply of his Stark Industries weapons, including guns and missiles which were being used against the United States Armed Forces, which clearly horrified Stark.  
As Bakaar continued his earlier conversation, he told Stark that they had all the materials needed for him to build a Jericho missile, promising that if he began immediately then once he was done, he would be returned home.  
Stark agreed to the job, although he noted to Yinsen that Bakaar would never actually allow him to get away, with Yinsen confirming that this was true while Bakaar smile at them.

While Stark sat by the fire and considered his new and terrible situation, Yinsen joined him and explained that what he had seen out there, with the Ten Rings holding his weapons, was the legacy of Tony Stark.  
When Yinsen called on him to do something, Stark simply questioned what the point was if he was likely going to be dead within a week regardless of anything, so Yinsen told him that this only meant it was an important week for him.

BUILDING THE FIRST ARMOR

Knowing that their captors would never keep up their end of the deal, Stark began the work asked from him with Ho Yinsen, however he had instead had begun to make a plan to escape.  
Stark recruited Abu Bakaar to bring in the supplies he needed into their cave, using Yinsen as his translator while he began breaking all of the various weapons apart.

In order to improve Stark's condition, he and Yinsen then created a miniature Arc Reactor, a smaller version of the same power source previously invented by his father, Howard Stark, and Anton Vanko, which they would soon embed into his chest to supply energy to the electromagnet protecting his heart.  
Stark concentrated on his own technical work, all while Yinsen continued to tell Stark everything he knew of the Ten Rings and what their plans were for them.

Having successfully built the Arc Reactor, Stark told Yinsen that he would not be using it to power his heart, but to power something larger for a brief time.  
With that Stark showed Yinsen his plans, hidden with multiple blueprints, to build a suit of armor which he would soon be using to finally break them out of the cave.  
Yinsen was both impressed and inspired by Stark's plan and then assisted him in installing the Arc Reactor inside his chest.

During their down time, Stark and Yinsen played board games to keep themselves entertained.  
During one of their games, Stark asked Yinsen where he was from, as Yinsen explained he was from a small town call Gulmira where he had a family who he intended to see once he was free on the cave.  
When Yinsen then asked the same question, Stark admitted that he had no family waiting for him, with Yinsen noting he had everything but yet still nothing.

Stark and Yinsen then returned to their work, pulling apart pieces of the various Stark Industries weapons that were supplied to them and tearing them apart.  
They then fused the pieces together and turned them into plates ready to be added to the armor once that was completed.  
However the pair ensured that their work was still kept random enough that the Ten Rings would be unable to figure out their deception until it was at last too late for them.

Their work was one day interrupted by Raza, the leader of this Ten Rings group who told Stark to relax before admiring his Arc Reactor.  
Raza compared Stark's work to that of Genghis Khan who had almost conquered the world.  
Believing they were lying to him, Raza had Yinsen held down and threatened to put a red-hot coal in his mouth until Stark told him to stop.  
Raza agreed and then ordered Stark to finally complete the Jericho missile by the next very day.

Fearing for their lives if they did not get out as soon as possible, together Stark and Yinsen secretly began building the final stages of the armored suit to help them escape, with Stark focusing on the body of the armor while Yinsen wired up the final pieces of the mechanics.  
Fusing together the various large parts of steel to fit his own body, Stark then fitting the armor with various missiles and flame throwers, preparing himself for every eventuality as he knew Raza and the Ten Rings would put all their strength into stopping their escape.  
Once it was almost complete, Stark placed the still steaming Iron Man helmet onto Yinsen's desk and they prepared to finally put their upcoming escape plan into action.

ESCAPING THE TEN RINGS

Soon the pair enacted their escape plan with Stark being slowly fitted into the armor while the power from the new Arc Reactor was being downloaded into the suit.  
However, the booby-trapped door the pair had rigged with an explosive was set off, killing all the men who had come to check on their progress.  
To his horror, Ho Yinsen realized that they now did not have enough time to power the suit before the Ten Rings arrived and killed them.  
With no other choice Yinsen took a gun and held back the terrorists, while Stark's suit still continued to power up.

Once the suit had power, Iron Man waited in the shadows as the Ten Rings soldiers arrived in the room and searched for them, at which point he revealed himself and used all of his new incredible strength to punch them across the room, with the armor being unaffected by their bullets.  
Iron Man began making his way through the cave, killing any Ten Rings terrorist he came across by striking him with his armor. When Iron Man accidentally trapped his arm in a wall, a terrorist attempted to kill him by shooting him point blank in the head, only for the bullet to bounce off and kill the terrorist instead, with Iron Man freeing himself and continuing forward on his escape mission.

Coming around a corner near the exit, Iron Man was mortified to find Yinsen flying mortally wounded having been shot multiple times during the escape attempt.  
However Yinsen was just able to warn Iron Man before Raza fired a rocket launcher at his former hostage.  
Iron Man managed to dodge the shot and returned fire, shooting a missile at the Ten Rings leader which caused him to be badly burnt and trapped underneath the heavy falling rubble.

Iron Man rushed to Yinsen's side and urged him to get back onto his feet so he could go to Gulmira be reunited with his family, only for Yinsen to reveal that his family were already dead and he would see them at last in the afterlife.  
With his last words, Yinsen reassured Stark that it would be all right to leave him behind and urged him not to waste his life, while Stark thanked him for everything he had done for him in saving his life both physically and morally as well.

Angered by Yinsen's death, Stark stepped outside to confront the rest of the terrorists who were waiting for him; the suit protected him from the onslaught of bullets, and he used the suit's flame-throwers to kill several terrorists, destroy their stockpile of Stark Industries produced weapons that had been stolen from him and used against the United States Armed Forces which he despised, causing several massive fireball explosions to erupt all around him.

Due to the massive amount of bullets being fired at him, the Iron Man suit was eventually badly damaged by the gunfire, forcing Stark to escape using the jetpacks while the entire Ten Rings Base erupted in a massive fireball.  
Iron Man soured above the blast, though his suit began to fall apart and was finally destroyed as he crashed in the desert, although it still saved Stark from the impact.  
With no other need for it, Stark left the original armor in the desert.

Stark began making his way through the desert, using his jacket to protect himself from the intense heat until finally a helicopter flew overhead, causing Stark to yell out for help and collapse to his knees as he made a peace symbol in the air.  
James Rhodes then came out of the helicopter and hugged his friend before taking him back to safety.  
Upon being picked up by the Air Force Stark was then finally returned to the United States of America at long last.

NO MORE WEAPONS

Having been rescued, Stark was brought back to the United States of America by the army where he was walked onto a military airport by James Rhodes.  
To Stark's disgust, there was a stretcher waiting to take him to hospital, which he rejected. Stark then met with Pepper Potts, who he noted had been crying, teasing her as he claimed she was crying for her long lost boss, while she claimed it was simply because she was glad not to have to find a new job.

Stark then sat in Happy Hogan's car with Potts; who insisted that he go straight to the hospital to check himself over in the wake of his kidnapping.  
However Stark once again refused to get any medical treatment and instead asked to first be given a burger, then called a press meeting for Stark Industries.  
Potts argued that this was a very bad idea in the wake of his traumatic ordeal, but Stark still remained insistent, noting that he must get his cheese burger first.

Upon arriving at Stark Industries Headquarters, Stark was then enthusiastically greeted by Obadiah Stane before making his way inside.  
During the press meeting, Stark finished his burger and compared his experiences to how he never said goodbye to his father.  
Stark finally declared that his company would now, for the foreseeable future, no longer manufacture military weapons, which Stane tried to slow down to the best of his own abilities.

As their companies's stock market began to plummet, Stark had a meeting with Stane beside the giant Arc Reactor.  
Stane advised him to reconsider the decision as he feared it would ruin the company. Stark insisted that they should take another look at the Arc Reactor technology based on his work with Ho Yinsen, proving this theory by showing Stane the Arc Reactor on his chest that was now keeping him alive.  
Although Stane insisted that the Arc Reactor was designed by Howard Stark and Anton Vanko as a publicity stunt, he eventually agreed to help Stark provided Stark inform him of his next intentions before calling for sudden, unexpected press conferences.

While back inside his Malibu Mansion, Stark called upon the help of Potts to get rid of the expired Arc Reactor in his chest, as Dum-E and U were unable to assist him.  
Although Potts was initially skeptical about the idea, she helped him at removing the Arc Reactor, although she accidentally put him through cardiac arrest briefly.  
Once they were finished Stark told Potts he only had her to help and told her to bin the Reactor as he no longer had any more use for it.

Stark went to meet with James Rhodes who was giving a speech to new members of the United States Air Force.  
Stark interrupted the talk and teased his friend who then ordered the men to leave them in peace.  
When Rhodes questioned what Stark was doing there, he was told that Stark was working on a big new project, which seemed to delight him until Stark revealed it was not military. Rhodes then recommended that Stark get his mind straight instead

SUIT UPGRADES

In the months that followed, Stark retreated from public view and spent much of his time in the Mansion, focusing on improving the design of his new armored suit, refining its size, movement, and flight capability far beyond the original design.  
Stark was aiding in building the new suit by Dum-E and U who he had constantly mocked and insulted.

Recalling how the Mark I armor had almost no flight control and had crashed upon escaping the Ten Rings Base, Stark decided to create a more controlled flight capability for his suit.  
He arranged a test with U filming and Dum-E ready with the fire extinguisher in case anything went wrong.  
Stark proceeded with the test but quickly discovered it was vastly more powerful than he expected and he was launched straight up and painfully crashed into the ceiling.

Making some redesigns to the new armor, Stark developed new stabilizers which would attach to his hands and give him a new level of control while in the air.  
While testing out the new designs, Stark was joined by Pepper Potts who mistakenly believed that Stark was designing new weapons for Stark Industries which he then denied, claiming that this design was not a weapon but it was completely harmless.  
However Stark had once again underestimated the power of the design and a single blast from the stabilizer sent him flying backwards, much to Potts' horror.  
Shocked by this, Stark noted that he was not expecting that and began making adjustments.

Stepping upstairs, Stark found Obadiah Stane had joined Potts for pizza having returned from a meeting with Stark Industries' board of directors.  
Stane informed Stark that the board had decided to block Stark out of the company in the wake of his kidnapping, believing he was now suffering from PTSD.  
Stark furiously argued the decision but was told it was final, with Stane then requesting to take a look at the Arc Reactor technology, which Stark refused to do.

Getting back to work, Stark had the second test of his new Mark II armor, with Dum-E and U assisting him once again while J.A.R.V.I.S. watched.  
Using a lot less power than his first test, Stark hovered around his basement, struggling to maintain any control and almost damaging some of his most expensive cars.  
Eventually Stark ended the test and landed, ordering Dum-E not to use the fire extinguisher on him before proudly declaring that he could now fly.

TEST FLIGHT

Stark eventually perfected the flight power after much trial and error, taking the silver Mark II suit for its first test flight as Stark put on the armor for the first time with great pride and excitement.  
Despite J.A.R.V.I.S.' warnings that there had not been enough tests to be safe, Stark insisted upon being allowed to fly outside and fully test its true capabilities.

Iron Man cheered in utter delight as he soared high across the sky over the Malibu and shouted out in delight at his success, using the mask's system's to zoom into the city where a young boy looked on in amazement upon seeing Iron Man.  
However, when he pushed the suit to see how high he could fly in an attempt to beat the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird's record, he learned the suit would freeze at such a high altitude, which disabled its power.  
Stark fell from the sky and was just able to restart the suit moments before he would have hit the ground, with Stark delighting at avoiding such a near miss.

Having gained all the information about the suit's capabilities that he needed, Iron Man flew back to Tony Stark's Mansion, where he then prepared to analyse the data to use in the next design.  
Stark hovered over the entrance of the mansion and prepared to land softly on the ground, however he did not account for the suit's extra weight and promptly fell though the ceiling, destroying his piano and sports car.  
Upon crash landing, Dum-E once again sprayed Stark with the fire extinguisher, believing him to have caught fire upon the impact while Stark leaned his head back in both pain and frustration.

Exploring his lap, Stark soon found that Pepper Potts had left a gift for him on his desk.  
Opening the box, Stark found his original Arc Reactor had been framed with a message saying it proved he had a heart.  
Sometime afterwards, Stark detected someone trying to hack into his own home computer system, tracing the signal to a corporation satellite.  
Believing it to be business espionage, Stark then took the skies to successfully destroy the satellite.

STANE'S BETRAYAL

While giving J.A.R.V.I.S. his plans to improve the Mark III armor in order to fix the icing problems and improve the flight controls, Stark noticed a news report in which Zorianna Kit was reporting on a new charity event at the Walt Disney Concert Hall which Stark was now supposedly hosting.  
Stark questioned J.A.R.V.I.S. if he had been invited to the event to which J.A.R.V.I.S. then confirmed he had not, so Stark left his A.I. to complete the Mark III while he got himself ready to attend.

During his first public appearance since his return back to the United States of America, Stark arrived at his own party to be greeted by the press, having an attractive woman try to speak to him who Stark quickly dismissed as he did not remember her before complimenting another man who he had mistaken for Hugh Hefner.  
Stark had soon found Obadiah Stane talking to the press as Stane expressed his surprise to see that Stark had arrived, advising him not to draw too much unwanted attention to himself as Stane was still trying to get the board of directors on their side.  
Stark promised to do so as he stepped inside the building, but Stane was unconvinced.

Once inside, Stark met Phil Coulson, who introduced himself as an agent of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division; with Stark noting that the name of the organization was far too long while Coulson noted that they were now planning on shortening it.  
The pair soon arranged to have a meeting to discuss all the events of his kidnapping, but Stark was still not paying very much attention on told him to arrange it through his own team.

Stark however was too distracted by seeing Pepper Potts, who he saw in the centre of the room wearing a blue dress.  
Having said goodbye to Coulson, Stark went up to Potts and complimented her on her dress, which she noted she had bought as a present from Stark using his money.  
Despite Potts' protests, Stark took her onto the dance floor and danced with her, as Potts worried about being seen dancing with her boss.  
They joked about Stark firing her to make it less uncomfortable but Potts noted that Stark wouldn't be able to survive without her assistance, questioning if he knew his own social security number which admitted he did not.

Stepping outside, Potts confronted Stark about pushing her to dance with her while in front of all her coworkers due to Stark's reputation with women and fearing that her intentions with the dance would be misinterpreted by any who had watched them while Stark continued to argue that it was not really a big deal.  
As the spoke, the pair then almost kissed one another before Stark decided to go and get them both a drink, with Potts requesting a heavy drink.

While ordering all the drinks for himself and Potts, Stark was then accosted by Christine Everhart, whose name he briefly forgot despite them having slept together.  
Everhart expressed her disgust at Stark and showed him pictures of Stark Industries weapons in the hands of the Ten Rings and other terrorist groups, including the Jericho missile he refused to build for them.  
Stark denied any involvement but Everhart noted that his company supplied the weapons.

Disgusted by this, Stark confronted Obadiah Stane and demanded to know if he was making deals with Raza as well as the United States Armed Forces.  
Stane refused to answer the question, however he called Stark naive for not considering that this sort of thing could possibly be happening.  
Stane also revealed that was the one to shut Stark out of the board while he recovered.  
Stane then left the party, leaving Stark in a state of utter shock and horror.

BATTLE OF GULMIRA

Faced with the realization of what his company had done behind his back and Obadiah Stane's part in the deception.  
Stark went back into his workshop and continued building his Iron Man armors, while watching a news report on how Raza and his Ten Rings soldiers were using Stark's own weapons to attack innocent people.  
Disgusted by what he was seeing, Stark rose from his seat and used his flight stabilizers to smash the glass doors, realizing they could be used as weapons.

Seeking to do something good with the technology he had created, Stark donned his new suit and flew to Afghanistan.  
Knowing where Raza's men were attacking, Iron Man headed for Gulmira, the home village of Ho Yinsen.  
Upon arriving, Iron Man discovered innocent women and children were being dragged out of their own homes to become slaves for the Ten Rings while the men were being lined up to be executed right in front of their own horrified children.

Iron Man attacked and easily subdued all of the soldiers, using his advanced weapons systems to kill multiple terrorists with single strikes and saving the lives of the innocent people.  
Having found his former captor, Abu Bakaar, Iron Man ripped him through a wall and left him for the villagers to gain their own revenge.  
While Bakaar was being killed, Iron Man focused his efforts on destroying the Ten Rings entire stockpiles of the Stark Industries weapons.

During the battle, Iron Man was shot out of the sky by one of the Ten Rings' tanks, so Iron Man responded by shooting his own missile and destroying the tank with ease before he then targeted and destroyed all the Jericho missiles the Ten Rings had.  
The prolonged battle and massive explosions quickly drew the attention of the United States Air Force and his own friend and company military liaison, Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes who investigated the true cause.

Two F-22 Raptors were ordered by Rhodes to take out the unknown target, with Iron Man soon finding them directly behind him and attempting to lock on with their weapons, forcing Iron Man to use his new armor's upgraded flight systems to evade the attacks.  
As the jets continued targeting him, Iron Man found they had locked on with a missile so used flairs to destroy the missile before it could hit him, being blown forward by the force of the explosion.

Having managed to use his superior manoeuvring systems to hide underneath of the jets itself without being seen, Stark called Rhodes and revealed his true identity to him in an attempt to have the attack called off, with Rhodes being horrified that he had sent some of his own equipment into an active war zone without informing him.  
While Rhodes tried to stop the attack, Major Allen however order the pilots to take the shot when they could get clear view of him.

However, while trying to evade the attack, one of the Raptors lost its left wing when it accidentally collided with Iron Man during the chaos of the battle.  
The pilot ejected shortly afterwards, but his parachute jammed. Without hesitation, Iron Man dived down to help the pilot release his parachute before escaping. While heading back towards the United States of America, Stark spoke with Rhodes about what excuse he could then use to explain what had happened.

Once back at Tony Stark's Mansion, Iron Man was then helped out of his armor by both Dum-E and U, finding the experience fairly painful as they struggled to find a way to get him back out.  
During this, Stark was soon discovered by Pepper Potts who had just walked into his workshop to find him still half in his armor.  
Stark joked that it was still not actually the worst thing that she had ever caught him doing while Potts was horrified to see bullet holes in the armor.

NEXT MISSION

With the mission to defeat the Ten Rings a success, Stark went back to work in tweaking the Mark III armor in improving its performance.  
He was soon joined by Pepper Potts whom he requested go into his office in Stark Industries Headquarters to hack into the data base in order to find out where his weapons were being sold to the Ten Rings so he could go in as Iron Man and destroy them.  
Potts however refused to help him on his mission as she feared that going into these active war-zones as Iron Man would result in him being killed but Stark furiously refused to listen.

Stark furiously noted that for years Potts had stood by his side when he and Stark Industries had been creating the weapons and now she was planning on leaving once he finally began doing the right thing and protecting the people he had endangered like Ho Yinsen.  
Stark noted that since his kidnapping he had finally learned what he was meant to do with his life.  
Hearing how sincere Stark was about this mission, Potts took the hard-drive and agreed to help him.

While inside Tony Stark's Mansion, Stark attempted to answer a call from Potts when he found himself unable to move.  
To his horror he found Obadiah Stane looking down on him while using a Sonic Taser. Stane confessed that he had arranged Stark's kidnapping while he ripped out the Arc Reactor from Stark's chest, causing him to go into cardiac arrest.  
Stane mocked Stark but comparing him to his father while promising to kill Potts before walking away.

Having regained some control of his body, Stark desperately tried to make it to his workshop to regain his original Mark I Arc Reactor to save his life.  
However Stark collapsed inches away from it and was unable to move and minutes from death.  
But to save his life, Stark was aided by Dum-E and U who had managed to hand Stark the Arc Reactor just in time.  
Stark was then found by James Rhodes who he explained the situation to while being helped back up.

Having been told Potts had recruited Phil Coulson and an entire team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to arrest Stane, Stark warned it would not be enough as Stane had his own Iron Monger Armor.  
To combat this, Stark put his Iron Man suit on and prepared to battle Stane.  
While Rhodes admired the suit which he called the coolest thing he had ever seen, Iron Man told him to keep the skies clear from the United States Armed Forces while he then flew out of his mansion.

DUEL OF LOS ANGELES

Iron Man flew straight to the Stark Industries Headquarters where he discovered Iron Monger was attempting to execute Pepper Potts, so he charged down and knocked Iron Monger aside, crashing into the motorway and then through a Roxxon Oil Corporation lorry.  
Iron Monger responded by picking up a minivan holding a family and attempting to throw it at Iron Man, who put all his suit's power into the Arc Reactor to knock Iron Monger back.  
Having just caught the minivan and put it down, Iron Man was briefly run over by the family who were terrified by the experience.

As Iron Man recovered, Iron Monger struck again, hitting him with a passing motorcycle and smashing him into a nearby bus.  
While he was striking him, Obadiah Stane still continued to mock Iron Man by claiming that he had built Stark Industries up from nothing back when Howard Stark had been killed. Iron Monger then fired a missile at the bus, as Iron Man was consumed inside the fireball but was still protected by his suit, despite being launched high into the air.

While Iron Man hovered in the air, Iron Monger complimented him on his upgrades before noting that the Iron Monger Armor had upgrades of it's own before flying into the air to then chase him down.  
As they considered what to do J.A.R.V.I.S. had warned that the Mark III armor would not survive much longer while Iron Man decided to fly straight upwards, believing that Stane had not done enough tests on his own armor in order to solve all of it's own design issues.

As they soared higher and higher above Los Angeles, Iron Man soon found that the Iron Monger's superior power allowed him to quickly catch up with him.  
However once Iron Monger had managed to grab ahold of Iron Man, claiming that his own armor was more advanced in every way, Iron Man revealed to him that he had not solved the icing issue the Mark II armor had encountered, causing Iron Monger to lose power and then proceeded to fall out of the sky.

Losing his own power in the suit, Iron Man quickly returned to Stark Industries Headquarters where he attempted to get out of the suit, only to be immediately confronted by Iron Monger yet again.  
Without one of the gauntlets, Iron Man found himself at a disadvantage as Iron Monger got him in a bear hug and attempted to crush the suit with Stark still inside, until Iron Man managed to fire his own flairs to briefly blind Stane, allowing him to get away for a moment.

While hiding from Iron Monger, Stark told Pepper Potts that all his current attempts to defeat the Iron Monger were not working so he decided to make a new plan.  
Stark ordered Potts to overload the main Arc Reactor inside the building and blast the roof with energy in an attempt to defeat Stane.  
While Potts made her way back into the building, Stark also told her to wait until he had gotten himself clear, promising to buy her some time by fighting Iron Monger.

Iron Man proceeded to jump onto Iron Monger's back and ripped out important pieces of the Iron Monger Armor, taking out his targeting system and effectively blinding Stane. However Iron Monger soon managed to rip Iron Man off his back and then threw him across the rooftop, taking off his own helmet as a result.  
Iron Man was then left almost defenceless with barely any power left in his suit to fight back against Stane, who opened up armor and revealed himself.

While he crushed Iron Man's helmet, Stane began mocking Stark by claiming that he had finally made his father proud before shooting at him, with Stark managed to block with his gauntlet despite the glass floor underneath him before destroyed.  
While Stark held on, Potts told him to get off the roof. Stane noted that by trying to rid Stark Industries of weapons, Stark had inadvertently created the greatest one ever while Stane would then use to finally kill him.

While Stane struggled to aim his missiles at him, Stark ordered Potts to overload the Arc Reactor, which caused a burst of electricity which blasted Stark out of the way while frying the Iron Monger Armor, also killing Stane inside.  
Stane then fell inside the Arc Reactor causing a massive explosion while Stark fell unconscious from the ordeal.  
Stark almost died from the lack of power to his Arc Reactor, but J.A.R.V.I.S. managed to keep him alive long enough to be rescued.

I AM IRON MAN

In the wake of the Duel of Los Angeles as well as his own near-death experience, Stark was aided by James Rhodes who tried to get Stark into an ambulance to see if he had any internal injuries.  
However the ambulance was a fake one sent by S.H.I.E.L.D. to retrieve him.  
Now that they could finally get to talk to Stark.  
Phil Coulson talked to him after they had dropped him off at a small theater.  
Coulson viewed Stark's fighting strategy from his fight with Iron Monger on a projector screen.  
He told him he needed to become a real fighter and that he would be trained by skilled S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

The next morning, news had spread of Stark's new alter ego, dubbed "Iron Man" by the press.  
Stark then held a press conference where Agent Coulson gave him a detailed fabricated cover story about his and Obadiah Stane's whereabouts and advised him to state that Iron Man was his personal bodyguard.  
However, during the course of the conference, in a moment of self-clarity, Stark instead announced to the public that he himself was indeed the Iron Man.

MEETING NICK FURY

That night, Stark arrived home and was greeted by a visitor who was standing by the window.  
He revealed himself as Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and assured him that he was not the only 'superhero' in the world, intending to discuss the Avengers Initiative with Stark. However, Stark, uninterested in having the government offering him opportunities, ordered Fury out of the house.

ARMOURED ADVENTURES - FINDING WORLD PEACE

Iron Man performed acts of heroism around the world.  
News outlets began crediting him as the man who stabilized East-West relations" and Time magazine featured him as their new "Person of the Year".  
When blackmailed by the Ten Rings and Lina, Stark defeated all of the terrorists and also saved Lina's kidnapped son.  
When Nick Fury sent a team of United States Navy SEALs to board a ship controlled by the Ten Rings, Iron Man appeared and defeated the terrorists.  
Stark also helped Thaddeus Ross in saving the pilot of the Aerodynamic Marvel that crashed in the Congo.  
In Germany, Stark managed to recover stolen paintings without the use of his armor, all to gain Evetta Gorani's number.

STARTING THE EXPO

Six months after revealing his own identity to the world and helping maintain world peace, Stark appeared as Iron Man at the grand opening of the Stark Expo in Flushing Meadows, New York City, continuing the legacy his father, Howard Stark, had started.  
Treating the crowd to the Ironette Dancers and a speech in which he boasted about giving the world it's longest running period of uninterrupted peace, Stark left the stage with a video of his father playing.

Unfortunately, Stark's own life was not as good as it appeared.  
Stark was facing a double threat.  
The first was in the form of his own heart: the Arc Reactor Palladium core was poisoning him due to overuse of the Iron Man armor.  
To maintain appearance, he was forced to drink home-made medicine to counteract the symptoms.  
Meanwhile Stark was also aware that the United States Armed Forces were constantly looking to take all of his technology away from him.

Stark then left the Expo with Happy Hogan helping to keep the press at bay, signing autographs and meeting Larry Ellison and Larry King on their way out before he was then confronted by a beautiful U.S. Marshal who was waiting beside his car.  
The Marshal then informed Stark and Hogan that he was now required to attend a congressional meeting in Washington, D.C. the very next day in order to discuss the future of his work as the well-known superhero Iron Man.

MEETING WITH SENATOR STERN

The second threat was from a senate committee hearing, this time led by Senator Stern, demanding that Stark release the technology of the Iron Man armor for military application.  
Stark refused, believing it was not in the best interest of the American people for the United States Armed Forces to possess it and that they would use it as a weapon that could very well be used against America if other various countries were able to recreate the Arc Reactor technology.

Senator Stern tried to turn Lt. Colonel James Rhodes against him in an effort to force Stark's decision.  
Competitor Justin Hammer tried to plead his case in the matter; Stark took this opportunity to embarrass both Hammer and Stern with a collection of footage of Hammer and others around the world attempting to recreate the technology.  
Stark arrogantly stated that it would be years before anyone would be able to successfully recreate the tech.

MAKING PEPPER CEO

Returning to his Malibu Home, Stark was greeted by J.A.R.V.I.S. who updated him on the fallout from his meeting with Senator Stern.  
While Stark listened to the news, he pulled out his Arc Reactor and examined the damaged Palladium core which was slowly killing him, with J.A.R.V.I.S. noting that a replacement had not yet been found that could both power his many Iron Man Armors and also still keep him alive.

Uncertain of his chances of survival, Stark decided to appoint his former personal assistant Pepper Potts into the role he no longer was interested in, CEO of Stark Industries.  
When Potts arrived in his workshop, she and Stark had an argument about Stark's own lack of interest in his company and their resources ever since becoming Iron Man at which point he informed her that he had decided to promote her.  
Although Potts did not at first believe that Stark was being serious with this idea, Stark had Dum-E deliver some champagne to them as he confirmed that this would be happening and she was the perfect person to take the job over from him.

While doing some boxing training with Happy Hogan, during which he used dirty boxing techniques to gain the upper hand, Stark saw the arrival of Pott's new replacement as his own personal assistant, Natalie Rushman.  
Although Hogan hit Stark around the head, he proceeded to kick him away and beat him into surrendering before inviting Rushman into the ring.  
Stark looked into Rushman's eyes before inviting Hogan to train with her instead.

Stark then sat down with Potts to discuss Rushman, with Stark bringing up her history files and noting that she even spoke Latin and had once been an underwear model.  
While they were speaking Stark and Potts witnessed Rushman using a leg move to pin Hogan to the floor, before she exited the ring and asked Stark to sign the paperwork handing Stark Industries over to Potts.  
Once Rushman was gone, Stark told Potts that he needed her.

MONACO GRAND PRIX

Stark traveled to Monaco with Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan.  
There Stark and Potts encountered Justin Hammer, who smugly tried to show off that he was being interviewed by Christine Everhart for an upcoming piece for Vanity Fair; Stark quickly made it clear of his own romantic history with Everhart and noted that Hammer Industries had lost their contract with the United States Armed Forces due to his embarrassing performance at the senate committee hearing.

Taking some time away from Hammer, Stark excused himself to check his blood toxicity level in the bathroom.  
Seeing that the Arc Reactor's poisoning of his body due to the levels of Palladium it was emitting into his skin.  
Looking up at the mirror and seeing that he likely did not have much time left until he eventually died from this poisoning, Stark began questioning what he would like to do with these last few months that he likely had left.

Growing increasingly despondent and thrill-seeking as a direct consequence of what he believed to be his impending death, Stark decided to take the Stark Industries car intended for the track and race it at the Monaco Grand Prix.  
As he stepped into the car, with all the cameras now facing him, Stark gave a look which he knew would be viewed by Justin Hammer, much to Hammer's annoyance as he would once again be taking the spotlight away.

DUEL OF MONACO

As Stark drove around the track, Ivan Vanko, who had successfully constructed an Arc Reactor of his own, along with whip-like energy weapons, attacked him, using the whips to cut off the front of his car and cause it to crash along with several other race cars.  
Despite Stark's best efforts to gain the upper hand once he escaped from the car before it could be sliced in half, Whiplash's armored weapons managed to get the better of Stark who was defenseless.

As Whiplash prepared to rip Stark apart, Stark was forced to use his own wits and cunning to escape the deadly whips Vanko was using.  
Managing to get behind Whiplash, Stark struck him on the back of the head with a car door, but Vanko proved to be unaffected, forcing Stark to dodge out of the way of his attacks, while he did manage to trick him into striking the whips onto gasoline, causing an explosion which separated the pair from each other for a brief time.

With Whiplash proving himself too strong to be beaten without his armor, Stark seemed to be running out of options as he was backed into a corner by Whiplash.  
However, with the aid of the sudden arrival of both Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan, who had driven their car into the race track and successfully managed to crash their own car into Whiplash, pinning him against the wall and briefly knocking him out cold.  
Stark then prepared to quickly make his escape.

However, while Stark moaned about Stark Industries' seeming lack of security at the event, Whiplash continued to fight despite still being pinned to the wall and began ripping Hogan's car apart with furious strikes from his electric whips.  
This forced the terrified Potts to then hand Stark his portable briefcase armor, allowing Stark to don the Mark V armor ready to do battle against his would-be assassin in the middle of the track, with Iron Man now with the advantage.

Using his new suit, Iron Man attempted to subdue Whiplash by firing his repulsor rays at his attacker, but Whiplash was able to block those blows with his own armor before managing to strangle Iron Man with his whips and fling him across the racetrack into Hogans car and then back the other way, tightening the whips around his neck and sending him volts of electricity from the whips which slowly destroyed the suit while Vanko looked on smiling.

Not allowing himself to be defeated, Iron Man managed to build up his own strength and began wrapping the whips around himself in order to get closer towards Whiplash.  
Once he was close enough he punched him in the face a few times before ripping the Arc Reactor out of his chest and crushing it in his hand.  
As Whiplash was being dragged away by the police, he then spat out his own blood before laughing and claiming that Stark had now lost.

MEETING WITH IVAN VANKO

Afterward, Stark decided to pay a visit to Ivan Vanko personally while he was being held in a French prison to learn how he acquired the technology, being led there by Lemieux. Once they were alone, Stark commented on Vanko's technology and even suggested ways that he could improve it, thinking that he would never actually get a chance to.

During the conversation, Vanko revealed that he was the son of Anton Vanko, who collaborated with Howard Stark on the first Arc Reactor but was deported back to the Soviet Union and died in poverty.  
Vanko blamed the Stark family for his family's fate, and sought revenge.  
Vanko also mentioned that was he fully aware of Stark's current heart poisoning, saying that it was a terrible way to die, laughing out loud to himself as Stark left.

WHIPLASH'S ATTACK AFTERMATH

Despite Ivan Vanko having been put in prison for his crimes, the response to another man using the Arc Reactor technology was immediate, with Senator Stern giving interviews on WHiH World News could Stark's failure.  
While on his private jet returning to the United States of America, Stark made dinner for Pepper Potts as they discussed the aftermath of the attack, with Stark even suggesting that he quit being Iron Man from now on.

Stark returned to his home where he and J.A.R.V.I.S. tried to find a solution in finding a new power source for the Arc Reactor as well as looking at the history files of Ivan Vanko and his father Anton Vanko, who had formally worked for Stark Industries years earlier before being deported under the orders of Howard Stark.  
While at his home he was visited by James Rhodes, who came to berate Stark about the military's wish to take his suits.  
However, Rhodes realized how unwell Stark was and assisted him by changing the Arc Reactor Palladium core.  
Rhodes tried to convince Stark that he did not have to do his journey alone although Stark still remained skeptical.

Feeling more depressed about his future, Stark considered cancelling his birthday party which was now being prepared at his Malibu Mansion.  
Stark was then visited by Natalie Rushman, who came to give him a choice of watches to wear.  
Stark posed these questions to Rushman, asking what she would do with only a few days left to live, with Rushman telling him that she would do whatever she wanted with whoever she wanted to do it with.

STARK'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

Stark decided to attend what could very well be his last ever birthday party and quickly got himself very drunk, putting on his Iron Man Armor and partying with the many other guests who had come to celebrate.  
At one point he invited Natalie Rushman to wear one of his gauntlets and fire it at an ice sculpture, taking great pleasure in the destruction before joining the other guests and drinking more alcohol shots to get himself even further drunk and even harder to keep in control.

While wearing the Iron Man armor and indulged in many dangerous activities, such as using his repulsor blasts to destroy a watermelon, Stark was watched by Pepper Potts who attempted to make him stop, being advised by James Rhodes that this was a terrible time to be acting so foolishly.  
Despite Potts taking the microphone away from Stark and trying to tell the guests that it was time to go home, Stark would not listen to reason and instead insisted that his party keep going as he continued to reckless as he used his Iron Man Suit to entertain his drunk guests within his Malibu Mansion, much to Potts' and Rhodes' dismay as they looked on in horror.

In the end, Stark's actions became more and more dangerous and foolish, forcing his friend, Rhodes, to intervene.  
Rhodes donned Stark's Iron Man: Mark II armor and ordered the guests out of the room before demanding that Stark get out of the suit.  
Stark ignored him and instead requested that Adam Goldstein put on a good song for the incoming fight.  
The pair clashed as they flew through room to room, using whatever weapons they could find to try and subdue the other, including throwing heavy weights at each other before Rhodes managed to throw Stark into his upstairs bedroom.

Eventually, after almost destroying all of Tony Stark's Mansion in the resulting fight, Stark managed to subdue Rhodes by smashing his head down against the kitchen counter, roaring at the onlookers to force them to flee.  
As Rhodes recovered, they both then fired their repulsors at each other, which caused a massive explosion.  
With Stark out of the fight, Rhodes then delivered the armor to the United States Armed Forces while Stark could only look on.

REDISCOVERING THE ELEMENT - NICK FURY'S HELP 

In the aftermath of his battle with James Rhodes, Stark took the Iron Man Suit and flew to Randy's Donuts in California, buying himself a box of Donuts and enjoying them in the middle of the Donut sign above the shop.  
Just as he was relaxing in the morning sun, Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., approached Stark and ordered him to come inside.

Taking a seat inside, Stark once again informed Fury that he was not interested in joining the Avengers before rudely asking if he should look at Fury's eye or patch.  
Changing the subject, Fury then revealed to Stark that Natalie Rushman was in fact the undercover agent Black Widow, who Stark tried and failed to fire from Stark Industries.  
As Stark and Fury continued their conversation, Romanoff gave Stark an injection which slowed down the poison in his veins caused by his Arc Reactor before Fury reassured him that somewhere there was a cure and he simply had not discovered it yet, despite Stark insisting that he had already looked everywhere and found nothing.

Returning to Tony Stark's Mansion, they discussed the history of Anton Vanko who had been working with Howard Stark in creating the Arc Reactor before he was deported for selling secrets on the black market where he then raised his son Ivan Vanko in Siberia.  
Before he departed, Fury revealed that Stark's father was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founders and left Stark to go through his belongings to find the cure, leaving Agent Phil Coulson to watch over him.

RESEARCHING HIS FAMILY

Nick Fury gave Stark some of his father's old material to aid in finding a cure for the palladium poisoning.  
Stark found several items, including the notebook with the drawings of a "hypercube" and two Captain America comic books.  
Watching an old tape of his father, Stark discovered a hidden message where his father told him that he was proud of his son and viewed him as his greatest creation.

Stark then drove to the Stark Industries Headquarters, buying some strawberries along the way and met with Pepper Potts who tried to inform him she was too busy to talk.  
Once Stark got her attention, he attempted to apologise in his way, which Potts struggled to believe and insisted she needed to focus on Stark Industries' future.  
They were interrupted by Happy Hogan and Natasha Romanoff who were both now working only for Potts.

As Potts and Hogan left the office, Stark spoke with Romanoff and questioned how she could keep this lie going and she insulted him before leaving.  
Stark prepared to leave the office, dumping the strawberries into the bin, but first he thought he saw a hidden message in the diorama of the 1974 Stark Expo proved to be a diagram of a new element's atomic structure.  
Stark took the model into his car and drove it back to his mansion for further study.

Putting the model on his desk, Stark ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to make a scan of the model, removing all the trees and buildings from the scan so he focus just on the model itself.  
As J.A.R.V.I.S. questioned what Stark's plan was, he explained that he believed he had found a hidden message.  
Eventually Stark realized that the new element was inside the globe in the centre, with Stark thanking his father for gifting him with it as it would soon save his life

A NEW ELEMENT

As Stark put the final pieces together to begin his experiment, he was greeted by Agent Phil Coulson who asked where he had been before discovering a prototype for Captain America's Shield which Stark took and used to straighten some of his machinery.  
Coulson then informed Stark that he was leaving to head to New Mexico to investigate a mysterious object that had been found there.

With the aid of his A.I. J.A.R.V.I.S., Stark put his experiment into action, putting together a large laser in the center of his workshop in his Mansion.  
Stark pushed the laser into position, struggling to hold it in place as it put through the walls while he aimed it at its target.  
As the laser hit the newly designed Arc Reactor he had made, it finally synthesized the new element.  
As Stark picked up his creation and studied it, J.A.R.V.I.S. confirmed that the new element would indeed be a suitable replacement for Palladium and would be able to keep him alive while powering his Iron Man suits for the foreseeable future, Stark then continued work on the Reactor and his next suit.

Afterwards while Stark continued his work on his new suit, he received a call which turned out to come from Ivan Vanko, despite having last been heard from dying in a prison explosion, revealing he was still alive and still set on revenge.  
While Stark attempted to trace the call and locate the dangerous terrorist, Vanko promised that he would soon have his revenge for what Howard Stark had done to his father Anton Vanko before hanging up the call.

As Vanko had warned that he had taken Stark's scientific advice and upgraded his Whiplash Armor to be ready for their next battle, Stark donned the Iron Man Mark VI armor. Despite J.A.R.V.I.S.' objections, Stark wore his new Arc Reactor and commented on how it felt putting it on for the first time, noting he got a distinct taste of both coconut and metal before he suited up and flew off to the Stark Expo to then confront Vanko and stop his evil plans of revenge.

BATTLE AT STARK EXPO

At the Stark Expo, Iron Man arrived to confront Justin Hammer, who was busy unveiling his Hammer Drones, captained by James Rhodes in a heavily weaponized armor known as the War Machine Armor: Mark I.  
While trying to keep the audience calm, Iron Man demanded to know where Ivan Vanko was, although Hammer denied all knowledge of him and tried to play off the incident to the audience.

Vanko seized control of both the drones and Rhodes' armor, setting them all to attack Iron Man, who then flew across the Expo in his desperate attempt to lose his attackers and cause them all to crash, while ordering J.A.R.V.I.S. to regain control of War Machine.  
During the battle, Iron Man did all he could to save the hundreds of people fleeing during the chaos, managing to save Peter Parker who was mistaken for him by a drone for wearing an Iron Man mask.

Quickly running out of options as War Machine continued to fire upon him using Hammer Industries weapons, Iron Man did all he could to take out the drones, flying them all away from the civilians before leading them straight into the main globe in the centre.  
Using the Iron Man Armor: Mark VI's superior manoeuvring abilities, Iron Man had managed to escape and caused the bulkier Hammer Drones to crash into the globe and explode all together in a massive fireball.

However before Iron Man could relax, he was knocked out of the sky and into an Oracle Corporation dome by War Machine, who was still being controlled by Vanko.  
Iron Man tried desperately to block War Machine's attacks, holding his mini gun at bay until Black Widow had successfully managed to override all of Vanko's programming, having broken into the Hammer Industries Headquarters, with a little help from Happy Hogan, despite failing to arrest Vanko.

SHOWDOWN WITH WHIPLASH

Iron Man knocked War Machine back before Black Widow confirmed that he was safe at last and in control of his own armor, before also complimenting Stark on his new element which had now stopped his Palladium poisoning, causing Pepper Potts to confront Stark for not telling her he was dying.  
While Potts had Justin Hammer arrested, Stark helped Rhodes back onto his feet.

Knowing that the last remaining Hammer Drones would be coming to their location, both Iron Man and War Machine then set out a plan to battle them, however this only led to an argument between the two friends over who should take the better position in the area, with both of them arguing that they had the superior armor and skills.  
However before they could make up their minds, the Drones then arrived and surrounded Iron Man and War Machine, with nowhere to escape to, the pair donned their own helmets and prepared for battle, firing their weapons at the attacking Drones which outnumbered them.

As the battle then commenced, Iron Man and War Machine found that although they could easily defeat each Drone, the numbers began to overwhelm them.  
While War Machine used his impressive weaponry provided by Hammer Industries to destroy the attackers, Iron Man used his top of the range armor to fight back and destroy multiple targets at once, eventually using his laser attack to slice all of the remaining Drones in half and finally win the fight.

Eliminating the other drones, Iron Man and War Machine were then informed by Black Widow that they had a new enemy coming in, who she warned appeared to be much stronger than all of the previous drones.  
This was revealed to be Whiplash in his new, more powerful suit of Armor.  
Attempting to kill Whiplash before the fight could even begin, War Machine armed the Ex-Wife Missile, only for it to fail and not even dent the armor, with Iron Man then noting that it was clearly a Hammer Industries weapon due to it being useless in battle.

Iron Man then engaged in a fierce battle with Whiplash, with himself and War Machine throwing all they had at defeating him or maybe damaging his armor enough to cause him to surrender.  
However they both found that not only was Whiplash's armor too strong, but he had improved his whips to the point they were more dangerous than ever before and they both soon found themselves overpowered by Vanko's improved technology as well as weapons.

Whiplash soon managed to gain the upper hand in the battle when he succeeded in wrapping his electrified whips around Iron Man and War Machine's throats and slowly tightening them, hoping to break their necks.  
With no other choice, Iron Man called on War Machine to use the technique they discovered during the Duel at Tony Stark's Mansion and fired their own repulsor rays at each other, triggering an explosion in front of Vanko and knocking them all back.

Recovering from the shockwave and getting back onto their feet, Iron Man and War Machine found Ivan Vanko lying on the battlefield, with not only his new Whiplash Armor but his own body damaged beyond repair.  
Too injured to continue the fight, Vanko claimed that Stark had in fact lost this fight before he ignited his and all of his drones' self-destruct bombs, including one in his own armor.  
Knowing that these Drones were littered across Stark Expo since he had shot many of them out of the sky, Iron Man then flew to rescue anybody remaining there before they exploded and caused major casualties.

Iron Man raced to save Pepper Potts amid the series of explosions, pulling her away just in time.  
Seeing the chaos that Stark brought with him, Potts quit her position as CEO of Stark Industries, but Stark only teased her about the concept of leaving him before she and Stark kissed each other.  
Rhodes revealed he was there before he departed with the Mark II armor without serious objection from Stark, leaving them where Stark refused to accept her resignation

NOT A SUITABLE CANDIDATE

At a debriefing, while showing news footage of another superhuman event, Nick Fury informed Stark that while Iron Man was a suitable candidate for the "Avengers Initiative", Stark himself was not.  
S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted Stark as a consultant, but Stark said that Fury could not afford his help.

Stark thought about the position for a moment and he agreed on the condition that Senator Stern present himself and James Rhodes with their medals for bravery in defeating Whiplash and Justin Hammer.  
A couple of hours later in exchange, Stark got his wish and took the job as consultant.  
He took great pleasure in Senator Stern's annoyance at being forced to give him a new medal, smiling for the pictures and offering a peace sign to the crowd of onlookers.

THE CONSULTANT

Keeping with his job as consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D., Stark was tasked with preventing General Thaddeus Ross from releasing Emil Blonsky onto the Avengers Initiative, ordered by the World Security Council.  
Stark arrived at the bar where he found a drunken General Ross, who was still dealing with losing the Hulk, despite his own prolonged search for him.

The two exchanged insults about each other's recent battles before Stark told him that a team was being put together.  
Stark annoyed Ross so much that the latter tried to have him removed from the bar, which Stark bought and arranged to be demolished later on, which Stark informed Phil Coulson and Jasper Sitwell on.  
The task was then completed with General Ross refusing to release Blonsky from his custody out of pure spite.

CHITAURI INVASION - AVENGERS INITIATION

Stark retrieved the War Machine armor and stripped it of all of the new Hammer Industries weapons and turned it back into the Mark II.  
When James Rhodes then arrived, Stark informed him that he would never wear that armor again because he made him a new one with improved technology and weaponry.  
Stark focused his efforts on Stark Tower in New York City which was powered by pure clean energy, with Stark admiring that his own name was lit up.

Upon arriving at Stark Tower, he and Pepper Potts began celebrating the successful creation of their newest, clean energy source for the entire city, with Stark telling her that she could have twelve percent of the credit for Stark Industries' newest breakthrough.  
Stark was then informed by J.A.R.V.I.S. that agent Phil Coulson had arrived and now wished to speak with him, to which he refused and even claimed to be a Life-Model Decoy, but Coulson still insisted that he needed to speak to Stark urgently and then let himself into the tower, much to Stark's dismay as he blamed Potts for the security breach.

Coulson informed Stark that the Avengers Initiative was now active in the wake of the Destruction of Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. in which Loki had attacked some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and stolen the Tesseract, and had also taken Erik Selvig and Clint Barton as his mind-controlled slaves.  
Coulson explained that they needed him to come in despite having previously been rejected from the Avengers, handing Stark holographic screens with information about Captain America, Thor, Bruce Banner and Loki for him to study.  
While Potts and Coulson left the tower, Stark began examining the Tesseract design.

CAPTURING LOKI

Stark quickly suited up in his current Mark VI armor and then traveled straight to Stuttgart, Germany where he then quickly found his old acquaintance, Natasha Romanoff in a Quinjet overlooking the newly unfrozen Captain America in the middle of a battle with the hostile god, Loki.  
Iron Man jetted right in and blasted Loki with his repulsors and stood tall next to Captain America, aiming every weapon he had and forcing Loki to surrender as they took him into custody.

Escorting Loki onto the Quinjet in handcuffs, the team headed back towards the S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier.  
Stark commented on Rogers' fighting skills and subtly mocked his lack of knowledge of modern society since returning from World War II, questioning if he had taken up Pilates. As they were discussing why Loki had surrendered, a sudden thunderstorm had occurred, seemingly unnerving Loki.  
The Quinjet was then attacked by Thor, who broke in and subdued Iron Man before he could fight back before ripping Loki out from his seat before flying away, leaving Stark and Rogers behind.

While Thor furiously threatened Loki atop a mountain in order to learn exactly who Loki intended to give the Tesseract to, Iron Man blasted straight into him, hurling him onto the forest floor away from Loki.  
While Thor got his bearings, Iron Man revealed himself and was warned to not touch Thor again, to which he told him not to take his things.  
Thor then informed Iron Man he did not understand what was happening, and Iron Man mockingly claimed that Thor looked like he was in a William Shakespeare production in the park, telling him that he looked like he was wearing his mother's own clothing.

The two began to battle as Thor refused to not be allowed to take Loki was to the Asgardian Dungeons as he furiously struck Iron Man who defended himself.  
During the fight, Thor summoned lightning to his hammer, Mjølnir, and electrocuted Stark, only for J.A.R.V.I.S. to inform him that his suit was at 400% capacity, allowing him to blast Thor off his feet.  
When Thor attempted to charge at him, Iron Man charged back and managed to push him straight into a mountain, but Thor continued to fight back and caused them to crash land back in the forest where they then continued fighting each other.

Iron Man's Mark VI armor took a beating during the battle as Thor easily began to crush one of the gauntlets with just his bare hands.  
Fearing his arm would be shattered, Iron Man responded by shooting Thor in the face, which merely knocked his head back, before head butting him with his helmet.  
However Thor's own Asgardian strength allowed him to withstand all of Iron Man's blows and be unaffected as they continued their fight with Iron Man using all the advantages of his suit to try and subdue Thor without killing him so that he could then take him and Loki back into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody.

Their fight was broken up by Captain America who demanded that they stop fighting and questioned what Thor was doing on Earth, and being told that he had come to put an end to Loki's Schemes.  
Then Rogers insisted that Thor prove that he was on their side by putting down his hammer, to which Iron Man noted that was a bad move as Thor loved his hammer, just before he was struck by the hammer and knocked through a three just when Thor furiously attacked Rogers.  
After matching Mjølnir with his shield, the Avengers managed to calm and recruit Thor, recapturing Loki and taking him away.

MEETING THE AVENGERS

They took Loki back to the Helicarrier where Stark had a talk with agent Phil Coulson and promised to take him to Cleveland to meet with Audrey Nathan.  
Stark then joined the group, complimenting Thor on his fighting skills and pointing out an Agent playing Galaga before noting that Loki needed Iridium in order to control the Tesseract's power.  
As Stark noted why Loki needed Erik Selvig and Clint Barton, he was questioned about his new found expertise by Maria Hill, noting that he had done his research the night before, noting that all Loki needed was a power source to control the Tesseract.

Stark is introduced to doctor Bruce Banner who understood all of his own theories, delighting Stark who then complimented Banner on his own intelligence and ability to turn into the Hulk.  
Director Nick Fury then suggested Stark and Banner work together to try and understand Loki's Scepter, with Steve Rogers comparing it to a HYDRA weapon.  
While Rogers still struggled to understand a lot of the team's new modern references, Stark and Banner departed for the lap to begin their research, but not before Stark planted a hacking device and allowed J.A.R.V.I.S. to begin searching S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database to find out its secrets about why the Avengers were assembled.

TEAM TENTION

Stark talked with Bruce Banner in their new lab as they discussed all of Erik Selvig's work and inviting him to come work at Stark Tower for a stress free work place, despite Banner claiming that he broke Harlem last time he was in New York City.  
Stark then tried once to annoy Banner by poking him with a prod in order to test his ability to control the Hulk, only to get no response apart from pain before Steve Rogers entered and demanded he stop harassing Banner.

Stark wondered if Banner used jazz or marijuana to keep his cool, to which Rogers found less than funny, telling Stark he was risking the lives of everyone onboard the Helicarrier and should be focusing on the issues at hand.  
Stark however suggested that Nick Fury might have other motives for restarting the Avengers Initiative, although Rogers was unconvinced.  
Banner noted that Loki's comments could have been referring to Stark Tower and the power it supplied.  
Rogers once again told Stark to remain focused on locating Loki, only for Stark to insult his Uniform and send him out of his lab.

Stark commented on how his father had so often admired Rogers having worked with him back in World War II.  
When Stark noted that he wanted Banner to be in the fight with them when it came time for it, Banner insisted that he could not, calling the Hulk a nightmare.  
Stark then told Banner about how his Arc Reactor was keeping the shrapnel he gained from his kidnapping away from his heart, calling it a terrible privilege, with Banner claiming his situation was not the same.  
Stark noted all the Gamma Radiation Banner was exposed to should have killed him and maybe the Hulk saved his life.

Stark and Banner learned that S.H.I.E.L.D. was trying to harness the Tesseract's powers to begin Phase 2 and create weapons of mass destruction.  
Fury soon learned of their schemes and challenged them both, with them soon being joined by Captain America who had also found out that S.H.I.E.L.D. was using HYDRA's technology to learn how to harness it, based on Red Skull's designs.  
Just as Fury tried to defend his actions, Stark contradicted him, forcing Fury to confess they were building the weapons in response to Thor and the recent Battle of Puente Antiguo which they were unprepared for.

While Banner called their new team a time bomb, Stark got into a heated argument with Rogers who claimed that Stark was not a hero but a selfish man in a suit of armor, while Stark noted that Rogers was only a hero because of the Super Soldier Serum given to him by Stark's father and Abraham Erskine, leading to Stark challenging him to a fight.  
During a ensuing argument between the Avengers, Banner inadvertently picked up Loki's Scepter, revealing Loki's control over him.  
All of Loki's troops then arrived, led by the brainwashed Clint Barton, and attacked the Helicarrier in order to free Loki.

ATTACK ON THE HELICARRIER

When one of the Helicarrier's engines was destroyed by Hawkeye, Stark quickly suited up in the Mark VI armor and rushed outside to try and assist in its repair.  
Iron Man arrived and soon assessed the damage, recruiting Captain America to help him by checking all the main controls while Stark went inside the engine, however Stark was soon frustrated when Rogers struggled to understand the modern technology that he was currently looking at due to his lack of exposure to any of it.

While Iron Man and Captain America were working together by the damaged engine, Nick Fury and Maria Hill were unable to stop Hawkeye using one of his arrows to shut down the Helicarrier's power, causing it to fall out of the sky, dramatically shortening the time Iron Man had to save the day.  
Upon arriving at the engine itself, Iron Man used his laser to cut through the damaged propeller and decided to use his suit's power to restart the engine by hand, telling Captain America to pull a lever in order to free him from the engine before he got shredded inside it when it moved too fast.

Iron Man put all of his might into pushing the engine in order to get in spinning fast enough to lift the Helicarrier back up into the air, saving all of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents onboard. However Iron Man soon found it was beginning to move too fast for him to keep up and then asked Captain America to pull the lever, only to learn Rogers was now busy fighting Loki's own soldiers.  
Iron Man was briefly trapped and badly damaged by the propeller until Rogers managed to free him just in time.  
Iron Man then flew to Captain America's location and subdued the soldier attacking him before his suit lost all power.

SOMETHING TO AVENGE

With the Helicarrier now safe thanks to their efforts, the duo then learned that during the chaos, Bruce Banner had transformed into Hulk and caused mass destruction before he had escaped from the ship, as well as Thor being ejected from the Helicarrier by Loki who escaped but not before mortally wounding Agent Phil Coulson.  
When medical assistance was called in for Coulson, it was soon confirmed that he had in fact died from all of his wounds, news which shook Stark to his very core.

Stark and Steve Rogers were then gathered together in the control room where Nick Fury expressed his own deep regret for Coulson's death, presenting Rogers with the Captain America Card Collection he had asked him to sign.  
While Stark listened in silence, Fury then explained they could not locate the Tesseract, confessing that he was planning on recreating HYDRA weapons with it's power.  
before he informed the two that the Avengers Initiative was started so the isolated individuals could become something more and that Coulson died still believing this.  
Hearing this, Stark got to his feet.

Visiting the site of Coulson's murder at Loki's hand, Stark began talking with Steve Rogers about how Coulson did not have family, but was dating Audrey Nathan.  
When Rogers called him a good man, Stark called him an idiot for challenging Loki with the Destroyer Armor Prototype Gun on his own.  
Stark began furiously claiming that they were not soldiers in a war and he would not be following Fury any longer, noting about how Loki made it personal to draw them in.  
Rogers went to dismiss the comment but Stark noted that making it personal was Loki's plan, to rip their new team apart.

While rambling on about the theatrics that Loki has pulled off as part of his grand plan for world domination, Stark began to draw closer to finding out where the Asgardian God of Mischief would set off the portal to bring the alien army forth, commenting on how Loki wanted his victory to to be seen by the world.  
At that moment, Stark realized he had built something out of ego, Stark Tower, and it would provide both the perfect source of energy to open the portal and serve as a taunt. With a "son of a bitch" escaping his lips, Stark then informed Rogers of his epiphany before quickly walking out of the room.

With this new lead, Rogers put on his Uniform and recreated the other available Avengers while Stark repaired the Mark VI armor so it was battle ready again.  
Fueled by a desire to avenge Agent Coulson's death, Stark soon had his armor ready to go into battle.  
While Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye, who had now freed of Loki's mind control, left onboard a Quinjet which they had stolen from S.H.I.E.L.D., Iron Man flew himself straight to New York City in order to finally confront Loki and end his attack, although he found the armor still lost some power along the way.

CONFRONTING LOKI

Iron Man soon arrived at Stark Tower where he found a device had installed on the roof powered by the Tesseract that was now being controlled by Professor Erik Selvig.  
Iron Man ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to cut the power from the tower, only learn the portal device was already self-sustaining.  
Failing to convince Selvig to shut down the device, Iron Man blasted it; however the barrier around the device bounced the blast back.

Iron Man saw that Loki was watching in amusement from the balcony of Stark's penthouse and, seeing that there was now nothing else he could do to stop the invasion, Stark decided to change tactics and landed and had the Mark VI armor removed and faced off against Loki without any defences.  
In a sense of hospitality, Stark offered Loki a drink, but he declined before Stark threatened Loki.  
To buy time to put on two metal bracelets, Stark then promised Loki that he would be stopped by the Avengers no matter how long it took them, although Loki still remained unintimidated by the concept

Stark listed off all the Avengers members to show what Loki was up against, seeing Loki cringe at the mention of Thor.  
Loki insisted that his army would overcome them with ease, so Stark then noted that they had a Hulk on their own side.  
Stark then promised that even if the Avengers failed to protect the Earth, they would at least avenge it by defeating Loki, the now furious Loki promised that the Avengers would have no time for him when they were fighting a brainwashed Stark.  
When it seemed Loki would brainwash him, it turned out the Arc Reactor was blocking the Scepter from Stark's heart.

Making a performance joke, Stark was suddenly attacked by Loki who vowed to destroy the Avengers before Stark was then thrown out of the window hundreds of feet above the ground.  
However Stark just managed to call for the Mark VII; it was rocket-propelled to him, and formed the suit around him by connecting to the Colantotte Bracelets he had put on right before he could hit the ground.  
Stark flew back up to Loki and told him there was one other person Loki had pissed off, Phil Coulson, and blasted Loki backwards before he could even react in the name of the late Agent Coulson.

BATTLE OF NEW YORK

Stark was however confronted by Loki's device which opened a portal into space where Loki's army of Chitauri flew into New York City and began their war against Earth.  
Amazed at what he was witnessing, Iron Man charged upwards and fired all of the Mark VII's weapons upon the attacking alien forces.  
Iron Man recruited the help of Hawkeye by flying by the Quinjet and having him shoot the aliens out of the sky behind him while mockingly asking if they had stopped for drive-thru as they were so late to the fight.

Stark fought off the Chitauri and tried to call James Rhodes, who told Stark that he was too busy fighting soldiers working for the Ten Rings, but would come to help as soon as possible.  
Iron Man then began to chase after a Leviathan, a giant alien serpent and the warship to dozens of Chitauri.  
When he was notified of the arrival of Bruce Banner on the field, Iron Man led the serpent towards him, saying he was bringing the party to the others, so that Banner would transform into Hulk and defeat it, with Iron Man firing a tank missile at the Leviathan to destroy it's body and finally kill it.

Stark landed on the ground alongside his fellow Avengers.  
The team were then confronted by hundreds of Chitauri who flew in through the portal as well as several more Leviathans.  
Captain America gave out orders and instructed Stark to take to the skies and take out more Chitauri and keep them within New York City.  
Captain America then ordered Hawkeye to get onto the roof of one of the skyscrapers in order to inform them of the Chitauri's movements during the battle while also sharpshooting them, so Iron Man flew him up there while Captain America gave out his orders to the other Avengers.

As the battle began, Iron Man focused on his task of insuring that the Chitauri forces did not leave the city and wreak havoc elsewhere.  
He soon found himself being chased down by multiple Chitauri Chariots which attempted to shoot him out of the sky, until Hawkeye advised Iron Man to fly towards a tight corner as he noted the Chitauri did not were not as good at maneuvering their craft as he was.  
Iron Man did as recommended and successfully caused the Chitauri crafts to crash into nearby buildings.  
However despite Thor's best efforts to block the portal, they still continued coming through.

Charging throughout the entire battlefield, Iron Man came to the aid of Black Widow who was currently riding one of the Chitauri Chariots to try and reach Stark Tower, who Iron Man soon shot the pursuing Chitauri out of the sky to ensure she could get there.  
Iron Man then charged through multiple aliens to team up with Captain America, as they used his shield to deflect Iron Man's gauntlet blasts across the multiple enemies, increasing it's power as a result.  
Iron Man then aided Hawkeye by knocking several Chitauri off the building he was on before they could get to him as he continued flying.

Having been told by J.A.R.V.I.S. that all his lasers were not cutting through the Leviathan's armored skin, Iron Man took inspiration fro the tale of Jonah, Stark took out a Leviathan by flying head-first into its mouth and launching missiles from the inside, tearing it apart before crash landing on the street.  
However, he soon got battered by numerous attacks.  
Stark asked Thor if he had ever seen Game of Thrones, saying he reminded him of it.  
Thor asked him how he can joke around during the battle, but was then eaten by a Leviathan.  
Out of rage, Thor used Mjølnir to get out of the Leviathan.

SELF SACRIFICE

As the Battle of New York continued, the team found themselves still outnumbered and learned that Black Widow had now found a way to close the portal.  
Stark hindered this as Nick Fury has instructed him that Gideon Malick and the World Security Council had sent a missile to blow up Manhattan.  
Iron Man soon intercepted the missile and demanded that Widow keep the portal open, despite Captain America wishing to close it as soon as possible to end the invasion while they still could.

Iron Man flew it up through New York City and up alongside Stark Tower and finally straight through the portal as he was taken into deep space.  
Iron Man looked in amazement at what was before him, all while he lost contact with J.A.R.V.I.S. and the oxygen swiftly ran out.  
As he lost consciousness, Iron Man realized the nuclear missile and blew up the Chitauri Command Center, which resulted in the deaths of the Chitauri and Leviathan across the city.  
However Iron Man lost power in the Mark VII armor in the process and then fell unconscious back through the portal just before it closed.

As Stark fell back to earth, he was caught by Hulk who landed with him back on the ground.  
Captain America and Thor ran over to Stark who appeared to be dead, only for Hulk to scream in his face, waking him up.  
Stark said they should get some Shawarma to celebrate, despite not knowing what shawarma was.  
Rogers told him they'd do that later, since Loki still needs to be recaptured.  
Stark joined the rest of the Avengers to make sure he didn't get away.  
Loki, badly beaten by the Hulk, asked for the drink Stark offered him earlier; however, Stark ignored the request and took him into custody.

BATTLE AFTERMATH

A few hours later, Stark and all of the rest of the Avengers went into the Shawarma Palace where they all ate silently.  
They were soon interrupted by War Machine, who arrived too late to aid in the battle.  
The next day, the Avengers met in Central Park and made sure Loki was taken back to Asgard by Thor along with the Tesseract, despite Gideon Malick's objections.  
The team then went their separate ways; with Stark saying goodbye to Steve Rogers and shaking his hand before he drove away in his Acura 2012 Stark Industries Super Car with Banner by his side.

Stark was later with Pepper Potts in Stark Tower ready to rebuild after the damage that was done.  
Stark would go onto focus his efforts into creating the Iron Legion in order to protect the Earth from the next threat from the Nine Realms, Stark showed Rhodes several Iron Man armors that could be remotely controlled.  
When Stark was presenting how he could now charge his new armor from solar energy at Stark Tower, when he was suddenly attacked by a villain called the Melter, who he defeated and put him in the United States Armed Forces' custody with War Machine's assistance.

Feeling all the guilt of his recent actions involving the Battle of New York, Stark invested into Damage Control in order to clear up the wreckage left behind by the Chitauri and the Leviathans that now littered New York City.  
Putting Anne Marie Hoag in charge of the newly established Damage Control, Stark had Hoag take control away from Adrian Toomes' Crew to work on the clear up of the battle's aftermath, much to Adrian Toomes' great dismay.

MANDRAIN THREAT -ARMOR OBSESSION

Six months after the Battle of New York; Stark continued building up the Iron Legion, creating new suits for all possible eventualities.  
While in his Malibu Mansion, Stark tested out the new Mark XLII, which was built so that he could now summon various pieces of the armor when needed.  
He ignored J.A.R.V.I.S.'s concern about his lack of sleep, pointing out Albert Einstein went without a lot of sleep and invented many things.  
Stark recruited Dum-E and U to assist him in filming the newest test.

Some glitches with the new armor included the face plate and crotch plate, which hurt him if they impacted by themselves.  
With just the helmet to go, Stark noticed it was upside down so flipped himself over to help it fit.  
However as Stark celebrated, a final piece knocked him over and caused the suit to fall apart.  
Right after testing the new armor, Stark watched television, only to see that the Mandarin had made yet another attack against the United States of America.  
At the same time, James Rhodes had his own suit rebranded as Iron Patriot under President Matthew Ellis' direct orders to him.

MENTAL STRUGGLE

Stark met with James Rhodes at a bar and diner where Stark spent much of his time mocking the newest Iron Patriot name, being told that it had tested well with focus groups; the government felt that "War Machine" was too violent a name, which would send the wrong message to children.  
Stark and Rhodes then discussed all of the Mandarin's attacks and how he was being hunted down.

Two kids asked Stark to sign a drawn picture of him diverting the nuclear missile to the portal above Stark Tower.  
The picture depicted Stark's near-death experience in the Battle of New York which lead him to have an anxiety attack as he recalled what he had seen while fighting the Chitauri. He immediately put on his Mark VII suit to test for any faults in his physiology, only to be told nothing was wrong.  
Stark then left to return home and resume work on his suits.

While at his home, Stark called Happy Hogan to get an update on what was happening at Stark Industries where Hogan was now head of security.  
Once Hogan had finished complaining about all of his experiences and embarrassments as Iron Man's bodyguard, Hogan told Stark that Pepper Potts was currently having a pitch meeting with Aldrich Killian at the Stark Industries Headquarters, although he failed to flip the screen to show Stark Killian's face.

Having discussed meeting Killian in Switzerland back in 1999, Stark and Hogan discussed if Hogan should follow Killian, as he did not trust him or Eric Savin who had come with him.  
While Hogan told Stark to pay more attention to Potts, Stark said he missed his friend, with Hogan noting that he missed him too but also how Stark spent more time with the Avengers now, before Stark hung up the call and left his phone inside the wine cellar to continue working.

ANXIETY CONFESSION

As Christmas was nearing, Stark decided to show Pepper Potts his love for her by buying a large stuffed bunny as her gift.  
Unfortunately, it was too big to fit through his mansion's door, so he would need to have the wall taken down to get it inside.  
Deciding to test his new remote-control unit, Stark had his Mark XLII armor sit on the sofa and wait for Potts to come home.  
Once Potts was home and greeted him, Stark lied that he was breaking in the armor.

His ruse fell apart when she attempted to open the armor to kiss him; she went down to Stark's workshop for a crowbar, only to find him watching news reports on the Mandarin. Stark managed to quell Potts' anger by explaining that he's been feeling like an amateur in the big leagues since the Battle of New York; he's just a man in a suit against Asgardians, portals to other worlds and the Chitauri coming through.  
He then admitted that probably the only reason he had not snapped is because she moved in with him, for which he is greatly thankful.  
However, he was also been plagued by nightmares about these hostile forces attacking what he loves most, her.

Because of this, he spent most of his time, even when she's asleep, building more and more of the Iron Legion to help protect her.  
Potts comforted him, understanding why he's been so distant from her since being involved with the Avengers.  
She then left to wash up for bed; however, Potts turned around and offered to have sex in the shower to cheer him up.  
Stark agreed, hoping not only to lighten his mood, but try closing the gap forming between them.

Later that night, Stark attempted to have a good night's sleep, but had visions of himself going against the Chitauri Invasion, causing him to go into distress as he recalled almost dying while destroying the Chitauri Command Center.  
Potts attempted to wake and comfort him until his newest Mark XLII armor appeared, coming to Stark's aid, seeing Potts as a threat.  
Stark awoke and deactivated the armor, apologizing to a terrified Pepper who left him alone in bed.

THREATNING THE MANDRAIN

Stark's former bodyguard, now head of security, Happy Hogan was caught up inside the Destruction of the Chinese Theatre, seemingly caused by the Ten Rings working under the orders of the Mandarin.  
Stark visited him at the Los Angeles Mercy Hospital, ensuring that the nurses kept Downton Abbey, Hogan's favorite program, on Television and to make sure they all wore ID tags as Hogan was a stickler for those.

Having ensured that Hogan's health recovery was as comfortable as it could be, Stark prepared to return home while he was mobbed by the press who had requested a statement about the true cause of the blast.  
Stark ignored all of the questions and made his way to his car until he was stopped upon being asked if he would kill the Mandarin and put an end to his war against the United States of America, with Stark turning around upon being asked this question.

He then issued a public threat to the Mandarin, calling him a coward who hid behind the Ten Rings and would not dare face him alone.  
Without a second thought due to his rage at Hogan's injuries, Stark gave away the address of his Malibu Mansion so they could face off.  
As he left, Stark smashed the reporter's phone and told him to send him the bill.  
This resulted in numerous news choppers flying around Stark's home, waiting to film Iron Man vs the Mandarin.

MANDRAIN RESEARCH

Stark ended up fighting with Pepper Potts' over leaving their Malibu Mansion for their own safety, since he was dumb enough to give up his real address.  
Stark spent his time in the workshop, creating a database on the Mandarin and recreated the explosion that left Happy Hogan in a coma, searching for any clues that he could find what caused the fireball that had killed several people.

With new information from S.H.I.E.L.D. databases, Stark tried to learn who the Mandarin really was.  
Viewing the holograph of Hogan, Stark found he was pointing at a dog tag belonging to Jack Taggart near the center of the explosion; using this clue, he looked for records of similar explosions of 3000 degrees.  
Ruling out the Mandarin attacks, Stark eventually found one case in Rose Hill, Tennessee, seemingly caused by Chad Davis committing suicide with a bomb vest.

To Stark's surprise, the doorbell rang; J.A.R.V.I.S. informed him that there was only so much he could do since Stark had given the press his address.  
Donning the Mark XLII, Stark confronted his visitor, only to find Maya Hansen instead of the Mandarin.  
He initially mistook her comments about needing to get him alone as an offer for sex; so he turned her down, explaining that he was now happily in a committed relationship with Pepper Potts, which amused Hansen.

At that moment, Potts dropped luggage from the second floor.  
Stark quickly asked Hansen if their one-night stand back in Switzerland had resulted in a child; after teasing him by hinting this might be true, she explained that this was not the case.  
Potts and Hansen met, while Stark continued arguing about confronting the Mandarin.  
While Hansen tried to move them out, Stark insisted they should stay while also yelling about the giant buddy had had bought her.

DESTRUCTION OF MANSION

However, as they were still arguing about what action they should take next, Maya Hansen then turned their attention towards their television, which showed a missile which was now currently heading straight towards Tony Stark's Mansion fired by Eric Savin.  
Before they could react, the missile struck the side of the Mansion and sent the pair flying backwards, with seconds to spar before hitting the wall, Stark signaled his new Mark XLII armor onto Pepper Potts, protecting her as they slammed into the wall, with Stark taking the brunt of the impact.

Having been winded by the impact of striking the wall hard, Stark attempted to crawl away by noticed a large chunk of the ceiling was about to fall and crush him.  
However Potts appears wearing his own armor and saved his life.  
Stark claimed to have always said it was not safe to stay there and told her that they needed to get out.  
Upon being separated as the Mansion fell apart, Stark ordered Potts to get currently unconscious Hansen back to safety outside.

While Potts pulled Hansen to safety, Stark was forced to avoid the helicopter's shots as they tried to shoot him.  
Once J.A.R.V.I.S. had informed Stark that Potts had now gotten Hansen to safety, Stark summoned the armor back to himself.  
Still avoiding the gunshots, Stark collected all the sections of the Iron Man armor, getting saved from a bullet in the back just in time, before triumphantly raising to his feet as he prepared to fight back against his attackers.

Iron Man was unable to call upon the Iron Legion due to the Mansion falling apart around him and trapping them under rubble, so he was forced to defend himself using the new prototype armor, which lacked the offensive abilities of his battle armors.  
Despite being warned by J.A.R.V.I.S. that both the suit's flight and weapons capabilities were not ready and needed time to charge, Iron Man continued fending off the several helicopters surrounding him.  
When a missile had failed to fire, Iron Man then simply threw it at the helicopter and shot it with his repulsor, destroying the helicopter in the resulting explosions while the others still fired.

Taking out a second helicopter by launching his piano at it, Iron Man had another missile fired at him and fell through the floor into his workshop.  
Iron Man watched as Dum-E and U was destroyed along with his armors from Mark I to Mark VII, which were consumed in fireballs.  
Having been outgunned, Iron Man was pulled into the ocean while his home and possessions were all demolished over him, with Iron Man still without enough power to fly himself to safety.

As the Mark XLII began filling with water, causing Iron Man to come close to drowning, Eric Savin and the other attack choppers circled above the wreckage, looking for any signs of life.  
Iron Man was saved when J.A.R.V.I.S. took control of his gauntlet and used that to pull Iron Man out of the wreckage and flew away just in time as the power had been restored. Escaping, Iron Man lost consciousness from the strain and left J.A.R.V.I.S. in charge of the suit.

BACK TO BASICS

Stark found himself in Rose Hill, Tennessee after J.A.R.V.I.S. followed his initial flight plan to locate the Mandarin.  
Unfortunately, since the new Mark XLII was still his prototype and highly damaged from the attack, it lacked the link to the Arc Reactor to sustain its own power.  
Therefore Stark awoke just as the suit crash-landed in the middle of Ross Hill and lost power, including the link to J.A.R.V.I.S..  
This left Stark in the cold, with nothing left but his own genius to help him find a solution.

Lacking the power to return to California, the world at large believed him to be dead from the Destruction of Tony Stark's Mansion, Stark dragged the Mark XLII behind him as he looked for shelter.  
Finding a phone booth, Stark called his system back home, leaving a private message for Pepper Potts to hear.  
Apologizing for putting her into harm's way, Stark stated that he now had to find the Mandarin and therefore he still could not return back home just yet.

Stark broke into a work-shop belonging to the family of the 10-year old Harley Keener where he laid down the Mark XLII and attempted to fix the damaged parts until he was discovered by Keener.  
Despite being threatened with a potato gun, Stark found that he got along well with Keener, who soon reminded Stark of a younger version of himself, a child genius; Keener admired the Arc Reactor and had recommended using new retro-reflection panels to create a stealth armor, although he claimed to prefer the Iron Patriot name over War Machine for James Rhodes, which Stark highly disagreed with.

Having discussed Keener's home life where he was growing up without a father, Stark mocked him by noting his own father was not there for him.  
Stark then requested that Keener find him a a digital watch, a cell phone, a map of town, a big spring, and a tuna fish sandwich.  
Stark then gave Keener a flash grenade from his suit, recognizing the signs of a kid who has been bullied, to which Keener accepted while Stark demanded Keener get his sandwich.

Stark enlisted Keener's help in finding the truth behind the terrorist bombings seemingly involving the Ten Rings and the Mandarin.  
While being lead to the site, Stark complained the watch he was given was a Dora the Explorer watch.  
While examining the site of the explosion, Stark realized something was amiss as there was no ash-imprint of Chad Davis who died and the blast was similar to the Destruction of the Chinese Theatre, with no bomb parts being found.

However, when Keener started asking him about the Battle of New York and the Avengers and whether or not the Chitauri would return, Stark started having another panic attack. At this point, Stark had admitted that he should have been on medication to deal with his Posttraumatic stress disorder.  
Having pulled himself back together and thrown a snowball at Keener, Stark asked where Mrs. Davis could be found, with Keener telling him where she was.

BATTLE OF ROSE HILL

Seeking information, Stark set up a meeting with the mother of recently killed Extremis-infected soldier Chad Davis.  
Arriving outside the bar where he had been told he could find Davis, only to bump into Ellen Brandt, who complimented Stark on his Dora the Explorer watch, which he proudly noted was limited edition while also complimenting Brandt.

Inside, Stark soon found Mrs. Davis, offering her his condolences for the death of her son.  
To Stark's surprise, Davis handed him a file on her son's work with A.I.M. which he had not asked for, which held key information regarding her son's death and showing that he had worked along with Jack Taggart.  
Stark told Davis that he believed her son did not commit suicide but was instead used as a weapon, at which point Davis realized Stark was not who she expected.

Stark and Davis were then interrupted by Brandt; who revealed she was the one who had contacted Davis and attempted to arrest Stark.  
When the Rose Hill Sheriff attempted to stop this and questioned what was happening, Brandt then claimed to be Homeland Security before she suddenly used her Extremis powers to murder the Sheriff while Davis hid the file and Stark ran out, still handcuffed.  
Outside, Stark encountered Eric Savin forcing him to run for his safety.

As Stark ran, Harley Keener threw a snowball to distract Savin before he could shoot him.  
Followed by Brandt into a restaurant, Stark was forced to fight against the highly trained Brandt with no weapons to defend himself.  
As they fought, Stark noticed that Brandt could heal from most injuries and could super-heat anything she touched, using this to burn through his handcuffs.  
Stark bought himself time to set up a bomb by igniting some fuel to block Brandt's way.

While Davis walked through the flames, Stark put Chad Davis' dog tag in the microwave and exposed some gas.  
As she stepped inside, Stark joked that he had dated hotter girls than Brandt, who was currently on fire, with Brandt questioning if those would be his final words.  
Stark told Brandt that those words could be the title of his autobiography before fleeing outside and hiding behind an ice machine.  
An explosion then erupted, killing Brandt.

As Stark recovered from his fight with Brandt, he suddenly witnessed Eric Savin using his own Extremis powers to bring a water-tower crashing down, trapping Stark underneath all of the debris.  
Savin held Harley Keener hostage in order to regain Davis' file, but Stark reminded Keener about his flash grenade he had given Keener from the Mark XLII Armor; this allowed Keener to get away before Stark was able to blast Savin with a secret spare repulsor.

Stealing Savin's car keys from his pocket, Stark commandeered his car, taking off with the file from Mrs. Davis.  
As Stark prepared to leave, he was followed by Keener who insisted that Stark thank him for saving him from Savin, but Stark insisted that Keener instead go home to his mom and protect the Mark XLII armor until Stark had contacted him.  
As he leaved, Stark did thank Keener for all his help but teased him as he drove out of Rose Hill, leaving Keener.

LOCATING THE MANDRAIN

While driving Eric Savin's car, Stark called James Rhodes, who was overseas hunting down the Mandarin as well.  
Stark reminded Rhodes how last time he had vanished Rhodes had searched for him before requesting the log in to Rhodes' Comsat, with Rhodes eventually revealing that his password was War Machine, much to Stark's great amusement and Rhodes' own embarrassment.

Stark found a nearby pageant and broke into a broadcasting van in order to use their computers to find out what he needed to know.  
While inside, Stark was confronted by the cameraman Gary, who froze upon realizing who was there as he was a huge fan of Stark and the Avengers, who noted that he had not believed Stark had been killed in the Destruction of his Mansion.  
Stark amused all of Gary's requests to show his tattoo of Stark and recruited his help.

Using Gary's own satellite connection to hack into A.I.M.'s systems, which the file reported was responsible for Chad Davis' death.  
Stark watched footage of Aldrich Killian recruited Davis along with Ellen Brandt and Jack Taggart before they were injected with Extremis which enhanced their strength and regrew their limbs.  
Upon seeing one test subject exploding, Stark realized Killian must have sold his technology to the Ten Rings to use as human weapons.

Stark called Harley Keener, to check on how the suit was doing; with it now fifty eight percent charged, and J.A.R.V.I.S. kept saying the wrong word at the end of each sentence. Asking for the Mandarin's location, Stark heard Miami was it; thinking J.A.R.V.I.S. had misspoke again, Stark asked Keener to read the location.  
To Stark's shock, the location was correct; this sent Stark into a panic attack, as he did not have any of his armors or a to call in the Avengers to help.

Trying to keep Stark calm as he recalled the Battle of New York which made him panic even more, Keener suggested that Stark build his own gadgets if he would now have to defend himself when he would then confront both Killian and the Mandarin.  
The sudden thought of being independent and focusing on his work snapped Stark out of his panic attack as he drove away towards a gardening store to buy some supplies, McGuyvering several gadgets together.

ALDRICH KILLIAN'S WAR - LEARNING THE TRUTH

With all of his new home made gadgets now ready, Stark prepared to infiltrate the Mandarin's home and finally confront and possibly even kill the Mandarin in revenge for all of the lives he had damaged, including Happy Hogan.  
Taking position outside the walls, Stark used binoculars to spy on the compound, spotting several guards watching the entire area as Stark planned to get past them.

Jumping over the wall, Stark inflitrated the mansion as quickly as he could.  
Using all his wits and fighting skills, Stark successfully and quickly knocked out several of the guards, using his newly made gadgets to gain the advantage as he fired knock out darts at the guards and using an electrified glove and home made grenades to get past them all and eventually get inside the building were Stark continued to search through the rooms for the Mandarin.

Stark eventually found a large room filled up with movie props, along with the Mandarin's wardrobe; there was also signs that someone was living in the room and Stark found two half-naked women in the bed.  
Hearing someone enter from the bathroom, Stark then hid; the Mandarin entered, speaking in a British accent.  
Stark surprised him, holding the Mandarin at gunpoint, Stark was surprised by the sudden cowardly reaction from the terrorist and demanded answers.

To his horror, Stark soon learned that "the Mandarin" was nothing more than a character the actor, Trevor Slattery, had been hired to play; Slattery was given endless amounts of drugs and anything else he desired in return for taking the blame for the explosions.  
The person who had employed him was Aldrich Killian, who needed to cover up the failures of his Extremis program.  
Stark was however knocked unconscious by Eric Savin who took Stark hostage.

KILLIAN'S HOSTAGE

Being held in captivity, Stark learned Maya Hansen was working for A.I.M.; she had used the formula he had written down in a drunken daze after their night together to better stabilize Extremis.  
Stark had forgotten all about the drunken equation he had given her, chiding her for losing her soul; he was with a woman who had a sense of right and wrong.

Their conversation was interrupted when Aldrich Killian arrived and explained the reasons behind A.I.M. and how he was grateful to Stark for teaching him that he needed to rule the chaos from behind the scenes.  
Explaining that he was grateful to Stark for leaving him behind in Switzerland as it gave him a sense of desperation which changed his life, Killian went on to discuss Trevor Slattery's role, acknowledging Slattery's over the top personality.

Killian compared Slattery's Mandarin performance to him creating a terrorist like Osama Bin Laden or a Muammar Gaddafi to blame his failures on.  
Noting his desire for Stark to suffer desperation, Killian revealed he had captured Pepper Potts and was currently infecting her with Extremis; with Potts' life now in danger of ending up like the failures, Stark would be forced to help improve Extremis for her sake, with Killian noting how much pain Potts was currently in.

While Stark struggled to look at the video feed of Potts' suffering, Killian cruelly mocked him by noting how Potts was now at risk of exploding and offering to pay him for helping them.  
When Hansen tried to help him by threatening to kill herself to deprive Killian of one of his chief researchers, Stark witnessed Killian casually murder her without any remorse.  
As Killian left, Stark called him a maniac for killing Hansen while Killian claimed to be a visionary.

BREAK OUT

Stark was left guarded by two of Aldrich Killian's henchmen, one of whom broke Harley Keener's sister's watch.  
Once he learned the correct time, Stark worked out that the suit would be charged by now and offered the henchmen, one of who he nicknamed Ponytail Express, a chance to escape, believing that it would arrive in seconds, however this led to an awkward period of Stark awaiting his suit which took considerably longer than he expected to arrive.

The reason being that the doors to Keener's barn they were being kept in were chained shut, and therefore the rest of the suit was trapped.  
Summoning his Mark XLII all the way from Keener's House, Stark was given one of his gauntlets which he used to shoot Ponytail Express and free himself, with a boot then attaching itself to his leg to give him the advantage in the fight against all the men, although Stark still questioned where all of the rest of the armor was.

Having escaped captivity, Stark was forced to fight against several guards from A.I.M., despite only getting a hand and leg part of the suit for the duration of the fight and finding that this greatly affected how he could fight, as he struggled to maintain control of flying while wearing only the pieces of armor he had.  
When one guard grabbed Stark from behind, Stark used the boot to launch himself backwards and knock out the guard, stealing his gun in the process.

Keener soon freed all the rest by destroying the lock with a powdery substance, knowing that Stark was in need of his armor.  
Once the guards were all knocked out, Stark prepared to shoot the last one, only to be amused when he quickly surrendered to him as he claimed to hate working for Killian and A.I.M..  
The rest of the suit arrived and Stark made his way through the facility.  
He greeted J.A.R.V.I.S., while seeing the Iron Patriot Armor fly off, and his suit failed to fly.

To Stark's surprise, he ran into James Rhodes, who he thought was in the armor.  
It turned out that the Armor was being worn by Eric Savin in order to kidnapped President Matthew Ellis.  
Needing a way to go after Killian, Stark remembered Trevor Slattery, waking him from another drunken stupor.  
Seeking a way to save the President from being kidnapped.  
Stark then remembered that Slattery also had been given a speed boat from Killian and demanded it.

Onboard Slattery's boat, Stark called Vice President Rodriguez to inform him that President Ellis was about to be attacked by Savin posing as the Iron Patriot, with Rodriguez informing them that Ellis was about to board Air Force One.  
With Rodriguez promising to fix the situation, Stark and Rhodes discussed who they had time to save, Pepper Potts or President Ellis, with Stark deciding to remote control his armor so they could save both of them.

SAVING THE AIR FORCE ONE CREW

To protect President Matthew Ellis, Stark remote-controlled his armor to Air Force One, where Eric Savin had already forced President Ellis into the Iron Patriot armor and sent it away.  
Fighting Savin, Iron Man's armor was briefly disabled by Savin's Extremis powers, but Iron Man soon managed to shoot directly through Savin's chest and killed him, but at the cost of the plane falling apart around him.

To his horror, Iron Man witnessed all of the passengers onboard were sucked out of the plane through a hall caused by a bomb Savin had planted and were now falling thousands of feet to the ground below.  
With everyone else falling, Iron Man flew out of Air Force One just before it exploded, questioning J.A.R.V.I.S. about how he could save them all, with J.A.R.V.I.S. informing him that the Mark XLII could not carry that many people at the same time.

With no time to spare, Iron Man grabbed ahold of Heather and told her to grab ahold of whoever she could, explaining that he would send a shockwave through her body so that she could not let go to them.  
Iron Man saved two other passengers while diving down to collect the others, swiftly running out of time as they fell towards the ground.  
Forming a human chain by grabbing everyone else, once everyone was linked Iron Man dived for the final passenger.

With everyone now connected, Iron Man used his thrusters to give them more height before he then dropped them in a river at a safe height.  
As the people cheered in celebration, Iron Man ensured that they were all safe and complimented them before turning around to return to the boat and go save Pepper Potts. However, when Iron Man was not looking, the armor was knocked apart by an in-coming truck, smashing into lots of small pieces across the road.

Still back onboard the boat, Stark took off the Iron Man Mark XLII Telepresence Headset and then informed James Rhodes that he had indeed saved the passengers.  
As they moved on and prepared to go find Potts and Aldrich Killian, Stark was then informed by J.A.R.V.I.S. that the clear out of his Malibu Mansion had now finally allowed him to reactive the Iron Legion, so Stark ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to send them to him ready for the next battle against Killian's soldiers.

BATTLE ON THE NORCO

Stark and James Rhodes had eventually traced Aldrich Killian to an impounded oil tanker called the Norco where he now intended to kill President Matthew Ellis on live television. Sneaking in, they were attacked by several Extremis Soldiers.  
Stark fired his gun at the soldiers, but was unable to stop them due to poor aim, which Rhodes mocked him about.  
Taking out a light from a long distance, Rhodes quickly proved himself to be the superior marksman due to being in the Armed Forces which greatly annoyed Stark.

Outnumbered, Stark summoned the Iron Legion to their aid, all of which were currently being controlled by J.A.R.V.I.S., except the Mark XLII, which was running late after trying to save the president in Air Force One.  
Rhodes looked on in amazement as all the armors flew in together and lined up, awaiting the orders of Stark.  
Taking delight in his achievements, Stark then wished J.A.R.V.I.S. a Merry Christmas before sending all of the armors into battle, ordering the to target the Extremis Soldiers with extreme prejudice.  
Stark watched the battle unfolding, ordering Mark XXXVIII to hold up the platform under them and Mark XVII to assist Mark XXXV in the fight.

Stark wore the Mark XXXIII suit and prepared to fly into battle, with Rhodes requested his own armor to fight in.  
Stark however revealed that the armors were only coded to himself and therefore he had to send the Mark XVII to carry Rhodes to find both President Ellis and the Iron Patriot Armor, much to Rhodes' annoyance.  
Stark then flew across the battlefield in search for Pepper Potts so that he could get her away from the battle and then back towards safety.

While his suits continued to battle all of the Extremis Soldiers, with several of the armors being torn apart by the enhanced soldiers, Iron Man eventually found Potts unharmed underneath wreckage from a recent explosion.  
Iron Man mocked her about all of this happening because she spent time with Maya Hansen, while trying to get her out without risking the structure falling and crushing her. Reaching out, Iron Man and Potts were able to grab each other's hands.

However before Stark could free Potts, Aldrich Killian unexpectedly attacked him and damaged the armor's Arc Reactor.  
Pinning Iron Man down, Killian began slowly burning through his suit with his finger, telling Stark to close his eyes and die.  
Refusing to give in however, Stark was forced to cut off Killian's arm with the armors hidden blade and eject from the suit, only for Killian's still red hot severed arm to burn through the floor underneath Potts.

Seeing that Potts was trapped and being pulled towards a sheer edge, Stark charged through the battle field as he demanded that J.A.R.V.I.S. provide him with a new suit.  
As he ran across the Norco, Stark failed to get a new armor and was informed that Rhodes and rescued President Ellis and was taking him to safety.  
With all of the Extremis Soldiers being kept at bay, Stark began catching up with Potts and leapt from one platform to the other to get to her.

Getting as close as he could, Stark was still unable to quite reach Potts and begged her to reach out for him as he stretched as far as he could to try and save her life.  
However, Stark was then forced to watch in utter horror, as a jolt from the platform she was on caused Potts to lose her grip as she fell into a pit of fire a hundred feet below to a certain death.  
Stark looked on with utter devastation as he failed to protect the one person he could not live without.

SHOWDOWN WITH KILLIAN

While Stark continued to react in horror, Aldrich Killian then appeared and even mocked Stark, claiming that if he was in Stark's position, he would have caught Pepper Potts.  
Stark then ran forward in order to engage in a final fight with Killian.  
When Killian leaped into the air to strike Stark, he then dived underneath him and donned the Mark XVI armor.

Even with his armor on, Killian proved his Extremis abilities could cut through any armor with relative ease, using his red hot fists to cut through the metal armor and attempt to kill Iron Man.  
As their battle continued, Iron Man did all he could to subdue Killian, but found that he could withstand any strike, with healing a broken arm in an instant when they punched each other's fists.  
When he was pinned down, Iron Man again exited his suit to avoid Killian's burning fist.

Having launched himself off the edge of the platform, Iron Man then donned the Mark XL in midair and attacked Killian once again.  
Iron Man flew Killian across the battle field but was still unable to tire him out, as all his attempts to stop Killian were met with equal fighting skills and his armor was once again cut to pieces by all of Killian's Extremis powers, with Killian almost cutting off Iron Man's leg at one point before he was finally able to gain the upper hand.

Iron Man was able to avoid death once again by ejecting out of his suit seconds before Killian ripped it apart with his bare hands, falling hard on his back onto the platform below. Standing alone on the platform, Stark, now armor-less due to the rest of the Iron Legion being preoccupied with Stark's command to destroy all of Killian's Extremis Soldiers, awaited the arrival of the Mark XLII but was soon deflated when it crashed and disassembled once again.

Amused at Stark's failed attempt to don another armor to continuing fighting against him, Killian mockingly spoke to Stark about him not deserving Pepper Potts and claiming that he was close to making her perfect in his eyes by injecting her with Extremis.  
Stark told Killian that he was right that he did not deserve her but that she already was perfect and sent the Mark XLII onto Killian, trapping him with all the thrusters put on full power, pinning Killian against the wall.

As Killian yelled out in anger at seemingly being defeated, Stark then ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to let the armor self-destruct while he escaped.  
Diving down off the platform, Stark avoided the massive explosion behind him, which seemingly destroyed Killian once and for all.  
As the fireball contiuned to grow and destroyed most of the Norco, Stark summoned the Mark XV to catch him as the leaped for safety, only for the armor to fail on the way down by crashing into the platform, causing Stark to crash land, barely avoiding all of the flames and the debris that followed him down from the explosion.

SELF DESTRUCTION

Lying on the ground, Stark watched as the Mark XLII helmet fell into the fire before him and broke apart.  
Suddenly, Aldrich Killian emerged from the flames with most of his own skin destroyed seemingly beyond Extremis's ability of reconstruction and still intent on Stark's death.  
Stark was now powerless and at the mercy of Killian who called himself the Mandarin, saying that he was from the start.

During this proclamation, Pepper Potts, still alive due to the Extremis in her system, struck Killian to the ground with a large metal pipe, with Stark was left speechless.  
The Mark IX armor flew downward in an attack position.  
Stark failed to tell J.A.R.V.I.S. to disengage. Potts then jumped off a beam to impale the suit' donned one of the suits arms.  
Stark watched as Potts sent Killian flying backwards threw a missile at Killian and blew it up with a repulsor blast.

With Killian and all the Extremis Soldiers now dead for good, Stark approached the confused Potts who took a minute to realize what she had done while under the influence of the Extremis, calling it really violent.  
Stark and Potts teased each other about how he had thought she was dead while she joked about who was the bigger hot mess now.  
Stark apologized to Potts and promised to find a cure for her, joking a relationship with him would always be a mess.

Stark, seeing Potts that was still worried about their future together, decided to now give her an early Christmas present and finally ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to destroy all his remaining Iron Legion armors in Operation: Clean Slate Protocol.  
Surrounded by the subtle, firework-like explosions in the sky, the two embraced, with Stark asking if Potts was enjoying the show, which she said she did as he accepted life without such an obsession with being Iron Man.

TEMPORARY RETIREMENT - A STEP FURTHER

Stark was able to use his vast resources to cure Pepper Potts of the Extremis, removing her powers as he promised; now there was no worry about her suffering an explosive end. Two days later, Stark underwent surgery from Doctor Wu to have the shrapnel removed from his heart, which he had gained during his kidnapping by the Ten Rings some years earlier and forever end the risk to his life.

He used the pieces of shrapnel that had been removed by Doctor Wu to make a necklace, which he gave to Potts; ironically, this would be a gift from the heart which symbolised his commitment to her and not Iron Man from this point forward.  
Since Tony Stark's Mansion had been destroyed by Aldrich Killian and Eric Savin, Stark and Potts moved in together at Stark Tower, which he had now redesigned and renamed Avengers Tower ready if he would ever again need to rejoin the Avengers for a future mission to save the world again.

Returning to his home's wreckage, Stark threw his Arc Reactor into the ocean, vowing that he was still Iron Man.  
He took the remains of his Dum-E and U to repair.  
Stark retired from the hero "business" for at least a year, but continued to work as a consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D. and run Stark Industries.  
He began helping S.H.I.E.L.D. by making repulsor technology for their three new Helicarriers, to avoid the issue that happened during the Attack on the Helicarrier.

THERAPY SESSIONS

In the wake of his battle with Aldrich Killian and all of the stress he had endured from the Battle of New York aftermath, Stark retold the entire story to Bruce Banner in the Avengers Tower.  
Much to Stark's great annoyance, Banner had fallen asleep during the tale, telling his friend that he was not that kind of doctor.  
Stark ignored this comment and then began telling more stories of his life, much to the dismay of Banner, who proceeded to go to sleep again.

PROJECT INSIGHT

Tony Stark was listed as another potential target of Project Insight by HYDRA.  
Luckily, Captain America was able to stop HYDRA in time to save all of HYDRA's intended victims.  
In the wake of the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., Stark hired Maria Hill, utilizing his army of lawyers to protect Hill, in order to help him fill the void left by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s absence by privatizing global security.  
As a result of HYDRA's return, the Avengers were reassembled and Iron Man signed up.

ATTACK ON THE HYDRA BASE

As they tracked down HYDRA's current leader, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, the reassembled Avengers came into conflict with Doctor Jensen in Sudan as she was using Chitauri weaponry.  
Working as a team the Avengers defeated Jensen.  
With the help of Phil Coulson and the newly rebuilt S.H.I.E.L.D., Iron Man and the other Avengers attacked Baron Strucker's HYDRA Research Base to battle HYDRA's leadership.

While the other Avengers fought the soldiers on the ground, Iron Man worked on destroying the base's shields to allow the team access.  
When Iron Man swore during the mission, Captain America told him to watch his language, much to Iron Man's amusement.  
When the people of Sokovia began being targeted by all Strucker's guns, Iron Man ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to send out the Iron Legion in order to get the innocent people back to the safety of their homes.

Iron Man soon managed to disable the shields and entered the base; subduing all of Baron Strucker's soldier's with ease.  
Once inside Iron Man killed Doctor List who was attempting to delete his files before making his way through the hallways.  
Removing the Mark XLIII, Stark scanned the room in order to find a secret hallway, hoping to find all of Strucker and List's secret experiments, while being informed that during the battle Hawkeye had been badly injured.

While Captain America had successfully captured Baron Strucker, Stark located inside the base a giant Leviathan, which HYDRA had stolen after the Battle of New York, and the Scepter, which had last been seen in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hands having been taken away from Loki.  
While Stark was looking at the Scepter and prepared to take it back into the Avenger's custody, Wanda Maximoff sneaked up behind him and gave him a vision of the future with her powers.

In the vision, Stark saw the Avengers lying dead after a mysterious battle against a powerful enemy.  
As Stark explored the battlefield, he saw the deaths of his team mates, with Captain America's Shield lying broken in half.  
Going to Steve Rogers, Stark was surprised when Rogers grabbed his hand, telling him that Stark could have saved them before dying.  
Stark looked up and saw the Leviathans and Chitauri heading to Earth through a portal in space.

Shaken by what he had seen, Maximoff allowed Stark to retrieve the Scepter, knowing its power would ultimately cause his own downfall.  
Unaware that he was now being watched by Maximoff and her twin brother Pietro Maximoff, Stark reclaimed the Mark XLIII gauntlet and used it to snatch the Scepter away, originally planning on giving it back to Thor to take back to Asgard to keep the Earth safe from it's power but Stark now had some new ideas about using it.

CREATION OF ULTRON

With Baron Wolfgang von Strucker now in the custody of the United States Armed Forces, Stark flew the Avengers away from Sokovia onboard the Quinjet.  
Along the way, Stark asked Bruce Banner if it was okay for Doctor Helen Cho to set up all of her own equipment in his lab so she could begin the operation to save Clint Barton's life in the wake of his injuries during the battle.

As they came closer to their destination, Stark had put J.A.R.V.I.S. in charge of flying while he spoke with Thor and Captain America about what was to happen with Loki's Scepter now that they had finally recovered it from HYDRA.  
Stark requested that he be allowed the chance to study the Scepter before Thor returned it to Asgard to be kept safe, which Thor agreed with before they all discussed having a party to celebrate the capture of Baron von Strucker.

Upon arriving at Avengers Tower, Stark was greeted by both Doctor Cho and Maria Hill, with Stark correcting Hill when she called him boss, claiming that Rogers was the boss despite Stark paying for every they did.  
While the Iron Legion returned to the tower, Stark checked on Barton's condition while Cho used the Cradle to repair his damaged skin tissue, with Stark teasing Barton that he was dying while Barton insisted that he would now live forever.

Continuing his mindset toward protecting humanity while realizing the void that the downfall of S.H.I.E.L.D. created, Stark created an intelligence with the mandate to ensure global peace at any cost.  
The intelligence, Ultron, who in turn took control on the Ultron Sentries to defend humanity as a sort of makeshift army and allow the Avengers to retire. Seeking to push the Ultron Program forward, Stark recruited Banner by pitching the Program to him and showing him a detailed breakdown of the Mind Stone inside the Scepter, claiming that they could use it's detailed brain waves to give life to Ultron, something they had failed to do in all of their past experiments.

When Banner expressed his doubts about the Ultron Program, Stark argued if they were successful they could finally retire and Banner may not have to worry about facing Veronica.  
Claiming that with Ultron, the next Chitauri Invasion would never happen again, Stark told Banner that he had a vision of a suit of armor around the Earth, when Banner claimed this sounded like a cold world, Stark said he had seen colder, referring to Wanda Maximoff's vision.

With Banner now onboard, he and Stark spent the next three days before it was returned to Asgard attempted to sync the Mind Stone from the Scepter into the Ultron Program in order to finally give life to Ultron.  
However after three days of constant experimentation with the system, Stark and Banner admitted defeat, believing that there was no way for Ultron to be given life. J.A.R.V.I.S. recommended that Stark leave the project and attend to his party guests

THE AVENGERS PARTY

At a party hosted at Avengers Tower, celebrating their recent defeat of HYDRA and the capture of the Scepter and HYDRA's current leader Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, Stark welcomed not only his own team mates, but also several allies of the team such as Sam Wilson and Maria Hill, with Doctor Helen Cho agreeing to attend the party as she had heard that Thor would also be attending.  
Stark also decided to invite several World War II veterans to the party who spent their time with Thor and Steve Rogers, drinking ancient Asgardian alcohol which got one attendee too drunk to walk.

While drinking with Thor, Stark listened as James Rhodes attempted to impress them with stories of how he had secured a tank while in his War Machine Armor, with nobody impressed.  
Stark and Thor then began debating if either Pepper Potts or Jane Foster was the more impressive girlfriend, with Stark noting all of Potts' work with Stark Industries which caused Rhodes to walk away with Rhodes, leaving Stark and Thor to continue the girlfriend debate alone.

As the party went through the night, many of the attendees returned to their home, including Wilson, leaving Stark and the Avengers along with Hill and Cho as the only remaining non-team members there.  
As the remaining group joked and drank together around a table, they began to discuss Thor and his power to lift Mjølnir.  
As the debate went on, Clint Barton decided to try to lift Mjølnir himself, with Stark joking about him not being able to get it up.  
Stark then stepped up, joking that he wanted to rule Asgard if he picked it up.

Stark initially tried to lift it on his own, when that failed he called for the help of James Rhodes to no more avail, even with the Mark XLIII gauntlet.  
All the other Avengers then each decided to have a go at lifting the hammer, with Bruce Banner joking about Hulking out and Steve Rogers only slightly moved it while Natasha Romanoff refused it even try.  
Upon his defeat, Stark looked for fingerprint recognition software on the hammer which Thor still had denied.

ULTRON OFFENSIVE - ATTACK ON AVENGERS TOWERS

As the group laughed, a sudden loud ring echoed through Avengers Tower as they turned to see one of the Iron Legion robots stepping out of the darkness to confront them. While Stark tried to get J.A.R.V.I.S. to shut down the robot, it introduced itself as Ultron, claiming that it was there for peace in their time.  
When questioned about it's true intentions, Ultron told them it intended to destroy the Avengers in order to achieve peace as they listened in horror.

Ultron then sent out all his Sentries to then attacked the entire party.  
Without his Mark XLIII armor to defend himself, Stark was quickly separated from James Rhodes and was forced to use whatever had come to hand to battle the robots.  
Grabbing a knife, Stark jumped onto the back of one of the many attacking robots that he had once designed himself and attempted to damage it's inner wiring in mid-air, eventually succeeding as they fell to the floor together.

In the wake of the brief battle, which concluded when Hawkeye had handed Captain America his shield which he used to destroy the final robot, Stark and the Avengers were faced with the main Ultron form.  
Refusing to listen to the robot's threats to them any longer, Thor then destroyed Ultron's robot body with Mjølnir, although one of it's own Sentries had already escaped with the Scepter in it's hand and had claimed that it would attack all of the Avengers again.

TEAM ARGUMENT

With the Avengers now all gathered together, Stark began examining the Ultron robot to understand what caused it to attack them all.  
He listened closely as it was soon learned that Ultron had successfully accessed Avengers Tower's files and escaped through the internet, with James Rhodes and Maria Hill worrying that he may also gain access into the nuclear codes.  
When it was noted that Ultron had claimed to have killed somebody, Stark revealed that he had learned that Ultron had destroyed J.A.R.V.I.S.' mainframe in a rage.

While Stark and Helen Cho discussed Ultron's possible motives for turning against him, Thor then stormed in and grabbed Stark by the throat, accusing him of bringing destruction onto the Earth.  
Thor explained he had lost the Scepter, claiming Ultron was created by Stark messing with something he did not understand.  
As Stark had started to laugh, despite Bruce Banner telling him to stop, he claimed it was funny they did not understand why it was needed.

Stark defended himself, claiming that he was coming up with a new solution to end the war that would destroy the Earth based on the vision recently given to him by Wanda Maximoff.  
Stark then recalled the Battle of New York, claiming that what was out in space would destroy them all if they did not plan ahead.  
As Steve Rogers claimed they could beat that threat as a team, Stark claimed that they would fail, with Rogers telling him they would still be a team.

Seeking leads, the team began searching for wherever Ultron was heading next and later learned that Ultron had built himself a new body and had murdered Baron Wolfgang von Strucker in his prison cell and had recruited the aid of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff.  
Upon learning of Baron Strucker's death, it was noted that this was likely a smokescreen to throw them off, with all of their own information on Strucker having been deleted off their computers.

Forced to use old S.H.I.E.L.D. files, the team researched anyone who was connected to Strucker who maybe able to find a new lead.  
Stark soon pointed out Ulysses Klaue, noting that he had almost done a deal with him to sell Stark Industries weapons.  
Stark explained that Klaue was known for having a brand on his neck that marked him as a thief of Wakanda, the land where Vibranium was made, so they all assumed that Ultron would go to him for the metal.

HUNTING ULTRON

Stark led the team to Johannesburg where they found Ultron, along with Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, taking the Vibranium having just cut off Ulysses Klaue's arm in a fit of rage. Confronted Ultron, Iron Man attempted to talk him into surrendering, but Ultron refused, with the Maximoff siblings backing him up and insulting Iron Man's legacy.  
When Iron Man questioned what the Vibranium was for, Ultron responded by suddenly and furiously attacking Iron Man.

They engaged in a fierce battle, with Iron Man taking on Ultron alone while Thor and Captain America fought the Ultron Sentries and the Maximoff twins, and both Hawkeye and Black Widow fighting against all of Klaue's soldiers who had come to defend their own employer following Ultron's assault on him.  
As their battle continued, Iron Man and Ultron flew out of the Churchill and across the Salvage Yard, still furiously firing all of their own weapons at each other.

Eventually, Iron Man brought down Ultron and threatened him with a missile, however Ultron revealed that he had already transferred his mind into another Sentry body and explained that the team had been mentally taken down by Wanda Maximoff, who had proceeded to cause Bruce Banner to transform into Hulk in the middle of South Africa and had started to destroy everything he could.  
Responding by destroying Ultron, Iron Man then went after the Hulk.

DUEL OF JOHANNESBURG

Knowing that many innocent civilians would undoubtedly be killed in the Hulk's rampage, Iron Man was forced to leave Ultron behind and called on Black Widow to try and calm Banner down, only to be told by Hawkeye that Romanoff was unable to go into battle.  
Iron Man called upon his Mark XLIV and Veronica in an attempt to subdue the Hulk himself.

However, despite soon being trapped inside Veronica's enforced and electrified metal cage, the enraged Hulk had soon managed to break himself free.  
Ordering the South African police to stand down from the fight, Iron Man tried to get through to Bruce Banner by telling him that Wanda Maximoff was messing with his mind, telling him that Banner was stronger and smarter than her.  
However the mention of Banner's name only seemed to enrage Hulk even further.

When all of Iron Man's attempts to calm the Hulk down had failed, the two began to fight.  
Hulk launched a car at Iron Man, knocking him back, so Iron Man responded by flying to the Hulk and dragging him face first through the concrete.  
When Hulk damaged the armor, Stark called for extra parts and used its many capabilities to try to knock Hulk down.  
With the Hulk charging at him, Iron Man kept him at bay with his gauntlet beam while his arm was repaired.

The Hulk charged forward and the pair smashed their fists into each other, causing a shockwave through Johannesburg.  
Pinning the Hulk to the ground, Iron Man began repeatedly punching him in the face and begging him to go to sleep and finish their fight, however the Hulk's rage only continued to build.  
Iron Man attempted to trap his arm with the Hulkbuster Armor and fly him out of the city in order to protect the people, with the Hulk still fighting back.

As Iron Man attempted to fly the Hulk out of the city, he continued to fight back and forced Iron Man to crash land on the side of a large building.  
As Hulk furiously tried to rip him apart, Iron Man pushed him against a wall and tried spraying gas in his face, although this tactic had almost no affect.  
As they continued fighting, Iron Man was aware that behind him an elevator filled with people were standing just feet away from the battle as they attempted to escape.

When he was kicked back with incredible force, Iron Man crashed into the elevator filled with innocent people, forcing him to catch it before it hit the ground as he ordered everyone to get out while they still could.  
Iron Man then proceeded to use the elevator as a weapon as he slammed it down onto the Hulk's head.  
Once the Hulk was stunned, Iron Man hit him across the face, knocking out one of his teeth, an action which Iron Man then soon regretted.

The enraged Hulk then proceeded to smash Iron Man across the city, attempting to rip out the Arc Reactors powering the Mark XLIV armor.  
Despite trying to get assistance from Veronica, Hulk proved to be too strong as he tore the armor apart.  
Eventually, Iron Man resorted to dropping the Hulk through a building still going through construction; this massive impact seemingly calmed Hulk enough that Stark could knock him out with a final massive punch to the head.

THE BARTON HOME

With the battle over, the Avengers were flown away on the Quinjet.  
Stark spoke with Maria Hill who told him of all the reactions to the Avengers' actions in South Africa and talks for Bruce Banner's arrest.  
Hill also suggested that they should go somewhere to rest.  
Clint Barton told Stark to get some sleep because they would land soon.  
When Stark asked him where they were going, Barton responded to a safehouse.

They landed in a countryside and entered into a small house.  
The team was surprised to learn that it was Barton's family home and that he has a wife and children.  
Although Stark at first assumed it was a lie as Barton was a S.H.I.E.L.D. spy, Barton explained to them that the reason the team were still unaware of his family was due to Director Nick Fury helping him to have this second peaceful life just outside S.H.I.E.L.D. where his family could be safe.

Stark and Steve Rogers went outside and chopped wood together.  
They discussed how Wanda Maximoff had been able to use her new powers to pull the team apart.  
When the conversation moved to how Stark and Banner inadvertently created Ultron, they then proceeded to argue and debate on simply whether or not Stark should have ever experimented on Loki's Scepter.  
Stark explained his action by using the argument that the reason they fight is to end the fight.

Just as Rogers was making his point, Laura Barton then asked Stark if he could help to fix their tractor.  
While Stark examined the broken tractor, Nick Fury revealed himself; Stark realized that Maria Hill had called him.  
Fury tried to convince Stark that Wanda Maximoff had just tricked him, but Stark said that the vision he had seen where all of his friends are dead would be in the future, if Stark would not do everything he could to save them and all of humanity.

Having gathered together the entire team, Fury then showed himself to the rest of the Avengers and started to discuss their next move to stop the Ultron Offensive.  
Fury told them that his contact people in "NEXUS" in Oslo had informed him that Ultron had attempted to get nuclear codes but somebody was changing the codes all the time. While Stark played darts, being outplayed by Clint Barton, he told the group he would go to NEXUS to find Ultron's new enemy.

When Natasha Romanoff noted she had hoped Fury had more to offer, Fury gave them a speech to inspire them to get up and fight against Ultron, telling them to stand up and fight as a team once again.  
This led to them discussing Ultron's motives at which point, Bruce Banner then realized that Ultron wanted always to improved his body, so he needed Helen Cho and her Cradle device to create his ultimate body which he could use to become unbeatable.

HACKING THE NEXUS

Stark then made it clear to Steve Rogers that if Ultron succeeded in uploading himself to the synthetic body, he might be stronger than any of them.  
Nick Fury then told them that he will take Bruce Banner to the Avengers Tower and said to Stark that he needed Maria Hill for "something dramatic".  
As the Avengers flew to Seoul, Stark was in the NEXUS base searching for the person who prevented Ultron from obtaining launch codes for nuclear missiles.

While hacking into the NEXUS to find Ultron's new enemy, Stark was shocked to find out it was J.A.R.V.I.S., who erased his memory and had scattered himself all across the Internet to block Ultron.  
It turned out that Ultron was afraid of J.A.R.V.I.S. and of what he could do, so J.A.R.V.I.S. went underground and prevent from Ultron from getting the codes.  
Restoring J.A.R.V.I.S.'s memory, Stark then sent his own programming back towards Avengers Tower.

BIRTH OF THE VISION

Having learned what he needed to at the NEXUS, Stark then went back to the Avengers Tower where Bruce Banner and Clint Barton waited for him.  
Greeting Stark upon his arrival at the Tower, Barton was with the Cradle with the synthetic body inside it.  
Barton informed Stark that Ultron had also successfully kidnapped Natasha Romanoff during the Battle of Seoul, so Barton began his search for her.  
Stark then told Banner everything he discovered and he asked for his help him upload J.A.R.V.I.S. to the synthetic body.

Banner was against the idea of messing with the body, finding the situation to be a time-loop they were all now stuck inside since first activating the Ultron Program; however, Stark argued that this was the right move and they did not have the time for the decision to be argued by the other Avengers.  
Stark was able to convince Banner that the new being Ultron had created could be a benefit by giving it J.A.R.V.I.S. as a core persona, and prevent megalomania.

As the two were almost finished preparing to upload J.A.R.V.I.S. into the Cradle, Steve Rogers with Wanda and Pietro Maximoff came and ordered him to shut it down.  
Stark and Banner refused, shocked that Rogers had recruited the Maximoffs as they recalled how Wanda's powers had caused the Duel of Johannesburg.  
When Rogers tried to convince them, Stark argued that whatever had already happened was nothing compared to what was still incoming.

To try and end the dispute before it got out of hand, Quicksilver then responded by speeding around the Cradle and unplugging all of the cables, until he was then subdued by Hawkeye's quick thinking.  
This action then led to a brief clash between the group, with Stark calling on parts of his Mark XLIII armor and shooting at Rogers, who in turn threw his shield at Stark, while Banner and Wanda Maximoff had a brief fight in which she knocked him back with her powers.

Just as their fight was getting underway, Thor had suddenly charged straight into Avengers Tower and revived the synthetic body with a massive bolt of his lightning as Stark and the others looked on in shock and horror.  
The living body then jumped out of the Cradle and looked around it's surroundings while the group looked on.  
The being then briefly attacked Thor until he looked out over New York City and calmed down as the Avengers moved down to speak to it.

The living body apologized and called itself the Vision and claimed to wish to assist them in their fight against Ultron.  
Thor explained that while in the Water of Sights he had seen the Vision in his dream and the Mind Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones, that is in the Vision's forehead.  
At first, the team did not trust the Vision's motives, but as proof of his honor, Vision handed Thor Mjølnir.  
A shocked Stark was congratulated by Thor for creating a new worthy ally.

Having successfully tracked down Ultron to Sokovia where he was planning on using Wolfgang von Strucker's former base to begin his schemes, Stark and the other Avengers got themselves prepared for what could be possibly their final battle.  
As Stark was talking with Rogers and Banner, he noted that if any of the Ultron Sentries got away, then they had lost.  
When Stark noted Ultron was waiting for him, Vision confirmed that Ultron hated Stark most of all.

Getting onboard the Quinjet in order to fly to Sokovia and confront Ultron for the final time, Stark and the other Avengers listened as Captain America gave a speech in which he told the team that their priority would be to get the people of Novi Grad to safety before fighting Ultron's army.  
Looking at Stark, Rogers noted that Ultron believed the Avengers were what was wrong with the world, and this was their chance to prove that he was wrong.

BATTLE OF SOKOVIA

The Avengers had eventually tracked Ultron down in Sokovia, where he had taken Natasha Romanoff to be held in a secret cell.  
Before leaving, Stark first installed a new AI, F.R.I.D.A.Y., into his newest suit as he no longer had J.A.R.V.I.S. to assist him.  
As the rest of the Avengers helped to evacuate the civilians out of Novi Grad and Bruce Banner went to free Romanoff from her cell, Iron Man confronted Ultron in the city's church right in the centre of Sokovia.

Ultron revealed himself to Iron Man, showing that he had created a new near indestructible body for himself made from the Vibranium he had stolen from Ulysses Klaue, and a drill that had emerged from the center of the church which dug deep underground, also revealing a Vibranium detonator with a mechanism located underground.  
As the machine was activated, Iron Man went to understand how to stop it while the Vision then came to confront Ultron himself.

As Vision succeeded to disconnect Ultron from the internet.  
Ultron activated the drill and a part from the city flew to the sky. F.R.I.D.A.Y. informed Stark that if the city would get high enough, the impact of its fall to the ground would cause a global extinction.  
While all the Avengers fought against the Ultron Sentries and made sure that the civilians were safe, Stark and F.R.I.D.A.Y. debated about a way to make sure the city would not be able to hit the ground.

While flying around the still rising Novi Grad, Iron Man witnesses one building falling off the edge of the drop, with F.R.I.D.A.Y. informing him that there were still people trapped inside.  
Without a moment to spare, Iron Man flew into the building to find a terrified family, so he ordered them to get into the bathtub as he flew them down to the ground to safety.  
Iron Man warned Captain America of more Sentries heading his way, although Rogers was hit regardless.

Eventually through lots of planning with F.R.I.D.A.Y., Iron Man came to the idea that he and Thor can destroy the entire city in the air by attacking it from the top and the bottom. With it seeming there was no hope of saving all of the civilians, Nick Fury and Maria Hill arrived with a new Helicarrier and a fleet of Transporters, helping all of the Avengers with evacuating Novi Grad while War Machine helped with the battle as he and Iron Man fought the Sentries together.

As Iron Man did all that he could to keep the Transporters filling with civilians safe, he continued discussing how to destroy Ultron's core, coming out with a plan to supercharge the inside from below.  
When one Transporter was damaged, Iron Man flew up and pushed it the rest of the way to the Helicarrier.  
Iron Man was informed by Thor that Ultron was now heading towards the core so Iron Man called on the Avengers to come together and stop him from activating it.

PROTECTING THE DRILL

The Avengers came together to guard the Vibranium drill in order to keep the the Ultron Sentries from activating it to prevent the city from falling.  
As they prepared for the battle and destroyed the nearby Sentries, Iron Man mocked Black Widow for taking too long to arrive and joked she was messing about with Bruce Banner, while she noted that not every member of their team could fly.

With all the Avengers assembled around the core, Iron Man looked on as Ultron gathered his army of Sentries, with Thor challenging his might by questioning if this was the best he could do.  
Having shown off his entire army, Ultron questioned how they possibly hoped to stop him, with Iron Man then quoting back Captain America's earlier words by telling Ultron that they would do it together, which caused Ultron to send in his hordes of Ultron Sentries.

As the army of Ultron Sentries charged into the church in an attempt to rip the Avengers apart and activate the key, Iron Man and the rest of the team used all of their might to fight back against the hordes of robots.  
As Iron Man flew around the church in his Mark XLV army, he assisted Scarlet Witch and all of the other Avengers by shooting the Sentries, cutting down their numbers swiftly. Using teamwork, the Avengers soon began defeating the entire Ultron army.

Seeing the he was losing the battle, Ultron attempted to get involved himself in order to regain control, attacking the Vision, however he was soon knocked back out of the church when the Vision used the power of the Mind Stone to push him down.  
Seeing this, Iron Man and Thor joinen in, using the armor beams and Mjølnir's lightning to destroy Ultron's Vibranium armor before the Hulk then smashed him across the city and scared of the remaining Sentries.

With Ultron seemingly defeated, Iron Man ensured that the civilians were evacuated onto the Helicarrier while he went under the rock to overload the core.  
However while Iron Man was cutting through the metal, Quicksilver was killed by Ultron before one sentry caused the city to fall.  
Iron Man and Thor succeeded in exploding up Sokovia before it hit the ground.  
The Ultron Offensive was then ended when the final Ultron Sentry was then destroyed by Vision.

LEAVING THE AVENGERS

Using Stark's funding, the New Avengers Facility was constructed in upstate New York; Stark informed the others about his resignation from the Avengers, aiming for it still to continue by pouring his money and resources into it, with a new team of heroes which included Falcon and the Scarlet Witch.  
Stark drove to the facility to personally oversee it in action and say his final goodbyes to the whole team.

Stark met with Steve Rogers and Thor at the facility where they all discussed the Vision keeping the Mind Stone inside his head; Thor insisted that he could as he had proven himself worthy by managing to lift Mjølnir, although Rogers questioned if this counted as Vision was a machine.  
Thor informed the pair that he intended to return to Asgard to learn more about the Infinity Stones and who had been recently manipulating them into locating the stones.

Rogers then said to Stark that he will miss him too, and Stark joked that he will build for Pepper Potts a house in the country, like Clint Barton.  
Stark then drove from there  
Stark was asked by the media about the incident involved Hulk.  
Stark then responded that public concerns about Bruce Banner are "Baseless" and "Irresponsible".  
Because all of his activities as Iron Man, Stark and Potts took a break from their relationship while Stark continued his own work.

FACING THE CONSEQUENCES

Stark gave a guest lecture at his alma mater, MIT.  
He demonstrated the students his latest device, B.A.R.F., which aimed to recreate and relive old memories to help with regret, and showed them his last meeting with his mother and father.  
Then he followed with a speech where he introduced a grant being awarded to all students, giving them all the proper funding to move forward with their own inventions and ideas.

He then read from the teleprompter and was shocked to read that he should be presenting Pepper Potts to the stage.  
Seeing this made Stark briefly pause as he and Potts had broken up due to his own previous commitments to the Avengers and obsession with building new Iron Man Armors. Stark then said his final words before stepping off stage where the M.I.T Liaison then attempted to get some money from Stark Industries for the school's funding.

As he walked outside, he encountered a woman who complimented his funding.  
She reached to her purse and Stark, thinking she was about to pull a gun, grabbed her hand.  
But instead, she pulled a photo of her son and told him that he had been killed during the Battle of Sokovia.  
She then told Stark her son's name and that she did not actually blame Ultron for her son's death, but held Stark personally accountable his death, which deeply unnerved Stark.

AVENGERS CIVIL WAR - SOKOVIA ACCORDS

On May 5, 2016, Thaddeus Ross presented to Stark the Sokovia Accords, a document which required the Avengers to operate under the supervision of an United Nations panel. Stark, haunted by the massive damage he had caused by creating Ultron, agreed to sign the Accords.  
One month after the Incident on Lagos involving Crossbones, both Stark and Ross went to the New Avengers Facility, where he tried to convince the Avengers to sign the Accords.

The Avengers were briefed on the Accords by Ross, who explained that the Accords were created as a result of the catastrophic events in which they were involved, including the Battle of New York and the Battle of Sokovia, with Ross presenting them with both the number of casualties caused and the expense of the damages.  
While the presentation was stopped for upsetting Wanda Maximoff, Ross told them the Accords would be signed in just a few days.

With Ross gone, the Avengers moved into another room to read and debate the Accords, with Sam Wilson and James Rhodes almost immediately clashing on their different views. Vision then noted that perhaps their own existence had caused the conflicts they were fighting.  
As all the Avengers debated whether to sign it or not, Stark remained silent, with Steve Rogers realizing that Stark had already chosen his own side, which was to be pro-Accords.

Stark gave them the story of Charlie Spencer and how he had been killed in Sokovia.  
He pointed out that the group needed to be put in check or they were no better than the bad guys.  
However, Rogers saw the Accords as a block to keep the Avengers from where they needed to be, while Stark noted that if they did not decide to make this decision themselves, it would be done to them at some point soon with far graver consequences for all of them.

Stark and Rogers both argued with each other and then Stark even got surprising support from Natasha Romanoff, who had previously expressed her distain for this kind of government oversight in the wake of the HYDRA Uprising and the Battle at the Triskelion.  
Their argument ended when Rogers left the room upon hearing news that Peggy Carter had died in her sleep, while Stark remained unchanged in his opinion that signing was the right decision.

FIGHTING WITH A FRIEND

Seeking to continue supporting the Sokovia Accords, Stark went into the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre where he assisted with the fallout from the Bombing of the Vienna International Centre.  
When Stark was informed that Captain America and the Falcon had tried and failed to save the Winter Soldier from being arrested, Stark greeted them both upon their arrival, noting that Secretary Thaddeus Ross wanted them both prosecuted for their all of actions.

Having also asked Vision to keep Wanda Maximoff inside the New Avengers Facility in order to protect her, in the wake of her accident in Lagos had resulted in her US Visa being removed.  
Sitting down with Steve Rogers, where he once again attempted to convince him to sign the Sokovia Accords.  
Presenting Howard Stark's pens which had been used by Franklin D. Roosevelt to sign the Lend-Lease bill, hoping this could help to change Rogers' mindset on the Accords.  
When Rogers asked about Pepper Potts, Stark revealed that now they were taking a break from their relationship, with Rogers then apologising for bringing it up as he did not know.

As Stark noted how after Aldrich Killian's War he had destroyed the Iron Legion for Potts, but since then he had armored up again and again to stop HYDRA and Ultron, admitting that Ultron was his own doing and that he did not want to stop being Iron Man, and he had hoped signing the Accords could win Potts back.  
They then briefly discussed his own father's relationship to his mother before Rogers admitted he could not ignore bad situations from happening.

Begging Rogers to sign, Stark promised that Bucky Barnes would not be sent to a Wakandan prison.  
As Rogers seemed to consider signing, they discussed adding safeguards to the Accords.  
However when Stark noted that Maximoff was locked up, Rogers confronted him about locking up a child like a Japanese Internment during World War II, with Stark insisting that he was just doing what needed to be done for the Avengers, until Rogers walked out.

ESCAPE FROM THE JCTC

During Bucky Barnes' psychological assessment, Stark watched closely as the the physiatrist questioned him about his time as an assassin for HYDRA.  
During the questioning however, a power failure occurred and Barnes freed himself and tried to escape.  
While Everett Ross tried to sort out their situation, Stark contacted F.R.I.D.A.Y. and went to confront Barnes himself without his Iron Man Armor to defend himself with from the furious Barnes.

Stark engaged Barnes, backed up by Natasha Romanoff and Sharon Carter.  
Stark used his gauntlet to fight him by first firing flash beam towards the Winter Soldier which briefly blinded him before blocking a gunshot with the gauntlet and then ripping the gun apart, however Barnes managed to overpower him.  
Barnes escaped, but Stark knew Barnes was most likely still with Steve Rogers, who, along with Sam Wilson, had also managed to escape from their custody.

While the base recovered from the Winter Soldier's escape, Stark was greeted by Secretary Thaddeus Ross who furiously informed him that due to his involvement in helping their target escape, a special force unit would deal with Rogers.  
Stark however convinced Ross to let him bring them in, promising to wear the Mark XLVI to bring him in, which Ross accepted.  
As he left the base, Ross gave Stark thirty six hours before lethal force would be utilized.

As Stark considered what to do, Romanoff said to him that they were understaffed, with Stark questioning if she knew where the Hulk was, despite Romanoff noting that Bruce Banner would likely not be on their side.  
Thinking of possible allies, Stark said that had someone in mind, referring to Spider-Man whom he had just been researching.  
Romanoff approached T'Challa to ask for his help, while Stark flew into New York City to go and recruit the Spider-Man.

RECRUITING SPIDER-MAN

Having learned about the "Spider-Man" that was protecting New York City, Stark deduced his true identity as Peter Parker and visited him at home.  
He waited for him to return from school where he openly flirted with his aunt, May.  
As Parker returned, Stark persuaded him to trick his aunt into thinking that Parker had applied for Stark's scholarship.

Stark entered his room with Parker and was soon impressed by how Parker used the technology he had retrieved from the trash to build himself computers and other technology. When Parker attempted to explain that he had not applied for the grant, Stark stopped him before he then showed Parker videos of him as Spider-Man saving civilians, complimenting him on his speed and strength as they saw footage of him stopping a car with his bare hands.

Parker denied that the person in the video was him, claiming it was edited footage, but Stark found his Spider-Man Suit and equipment, forcing him to admit the truth.  
Stark asked him if anyone knew who he was, but Parker informed him that nobody else knew.  
Stark then complimented Parker on his Web-Shooters and was surprised to learn that Parker had built the webbing himself before Stark joked about Parker's suit and promised to build him a new one.

Stark questioned why Parker became Spider-Man, being told that he only wanted to use his powers for the benefit of the people, noting that he believed that if he did not do the right thing with his powers, then good people would get hurt as a result, which Stark understood completely.  
Believing that Spider-Man could now be of great benefit during the upcoming Clash of the Avengers, Stark sat next to Parker and decided to officially recruit him into his own team.

Impressed, Stark asked him if he wanted to go to Germany, mildly blackmailing him by joking to tell Aunt May if he refused, to which Parker responded by webbing Stark to the door.  
When Parker agreed to help him, Stark built him a brand new Spider-Man Suit from Stark Industries and flew black to Germany to search for Steve Rogers, but also asked Happy Hogan to accompany Parker to Germany and assist him with whatever Parker needed while there.

FAILED NEGOTIATIONS

Stark learned of Steve Rogers's plan was to escape from the Leipzig-Halle Airport, so he and his teammates evacuated the airport and waited for Rogers and his team.  
Rogers soon showed up and Stark, with his newest armor and attempted to convince him to turn over the Winter Soldier to the authorities and surrender before Secretary Thaddeus Ross ordered that lethal force would be taken.

Rogers insisted that Helmut Zemo had posed as the psychiatrist interviewing Bucky Barnes and was behind everything.  
Iron Man noted that Barnes was responsible for the Bombing of the Vienna International Centre which had killed T'Chaka and many others, and therefore needed to face justice, while Rogers claimed that Zemo was planning on unleashing more of the Winter Soldiers.  
Stark soon found that their negotiation was going nowhere.

As a result, Stark called in Spider-Man to steal Captain America's Shield and to tie Rogers' hands using his Web-Shooters.  
Much to Iron Man's annoyance, Spider-Man was more concerned about meeting his hero, Captain America, and therefore acting immaturely during the encounter, forcing Iron Man to tell him to calm down.  
With Rogers now trapped, Iron Man ordering him to listen to his views on the Sokovia Accords, but Rogers remained uncompromising.

Before they could take in Rogers, Hawkeye used an arrow to free him before Ant-Man returned the shield to Captain America.  
As the Mark XLVI's sensors then detected the rest of the renegades making their way towards the Quinjet, Iron Man flew off to confront Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch, telling War Machine to take on Captain America before ordering Spider-Man to keep his distance and web up his foes from afar.  
Iron Man quickly caught up with Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch, managing to block their path with missile strikes.

With his two former allies now seemingly trapped, Iron Man began joking that Scarlet Witch had hurt Vision's feeling as she escaped from the New Avengers Facility, with Scarlet Witch expressing her disgust at being locked away while Iron Man claimed it was for her own protection after the Lagos Catastrophe.  
Iron Man then casually greeted Hawkeye and asking about what he had been up to during his retirement from the Avengers, asking if he played golf.

As they were talking, Hawkeye then deliberately fired an arrow to miss Iron Man, which he shot out of the sky and joked that Hawkeye had finally missed a shot.  
Hawkeye however then revealed that this was a deception as it had now left Iron Man open to being pinned under several cars by Scarlet Witch.  
With Iron Man now trapped underneath all of the crashed cars, F.R.I.D.A.Y. alerted him he was in danger which Iron Man noted he was already aware of.

Freeing himself, Iron Man helped Black Widow up after she, Black Panther, and War Machine had nearly been killed by Captain America and Ant-Man using the Pym Particles Disks to throw a truck at them.  
Seeing the single mindedness that was driving Rogers, Iron Man was left with no choice but to call in his trump card: Vision to come into the battle and give them the advantage they needed to finally bring all of Captain America's team members into their custody.

CLASH OF THE AVENGERS

The Vision fired a powerful burst from the Mind Stone to attempt to cow Captain America into submission before offering him a final chance to surrender.  
Regrouping his team, Iron Man stood across from Captain America's team to try and force his ally to stand down.  
However Captain America refused again, forcing Iron Man to order his team into battle with the directive to capture their renegade teammates alive.

Iron Man engaged Captain America in one on one melee combat before Hawkeye fired an explosive arrow towards the Mark XLVI to no effect other than knocking him back.  
As the Avengers all fought each other across the airport, Iron Man later chose to attack Falcon in a midair battle, before Hawkeye fired a volley of arrows towards Iron Man.  
The Mark XLVI's systems were able to easily trace the path of the arrows and then destroy them all one by one.

As Iron Man prepared to take down Hawkeye with a carefully aimed shot, the left repulsor failed.  
Demanding an update from F.R.I.D.A.Y., she tracked the problem to Ant-Man having entered the suit and was disabling it from the inside, teasing him that the voice he could hear was his conscience.  
Iron Man and Ant-Man continued to mock each other before, getting fed up, F.R.I.D.A.Y. ejected him via the usage of fire retardant foam sending him falling back to the ground.

When it became clear Iron Man's team would win the battle Ant-Man inverted his powers and grew to sixty feet in height, turning himself into Giant-Man.  
Iron Man looked on in amazement as Giant-Man grabbed War Machine out of the sky.  
As Iron Man ordered Giant-Man to free War Machine, he was then attacked by the Falcon, who fired the Redwing drone to stun Iron Man in mid air.  
While the drone threw off Iron Man's flight plan, it shattered apart against the armor.

Working with War Machine and Spider-Man, the three attempted to find a way to stop Giant-Man while he helped Captain America and the Winter Soldier to get away.  
Spider-Man soon came up with an idea to managed to recreate a moment from The Empire Strikes Back, calling it a really old movie which caused War Machine to question Iron Man on how old Spider-Man really was.  
While Spider-Man used his Web-Shooters to tie up Giant-Man's legs, Iron Man and War Machine flew up and hit him hard in the chin.

While they succeeded with knocking down the giant Ant-Man, as he fell, Ant-Man had managed to knock Spider-Man out of the air and onto the concrete from a great height prompting Iron Man to fly down to check on him.  
When he was satisfied with Spider-Man's state he decided it was time to send him back to New York City threatening to call his Aunt May if the enhanced youth did not listen to him.  
Despite protesting, Spider-Man soon collapsed from exhaustion.

Iron Man flew off to chase after the now hijacked Quinjet containing Captain America and the Winter Soldier, who had managed to get away with the assistance of Black Widow who had subdued Black Panther from them.  
Iron Man was backed up by War Machine in his pursuit before Falcon began following them.  
Rhodes ordered Vision to destroy Falcon's flight gear with the Mind Stone but the android miscalculated and shot out War Machine's Arc Reactor, taking the power out of the suit in hundreds of feet above the ground.

As War Machine fell towards the ground, Iron Man changed direction and tried to save his friend but was just unable to catch him in time before he crashed.  
He immediately ordered F.R.I.D.A.Y. to scan for life signs and she contacted emergency medical personnel when she found War Machine was still alive.  
Falcon also landed and told Iron Man he was sorry, but Iron Man vented his rage by blasting him with a repulsor beam, decisively ending the extended fight.

CLASH AFTERMATH

With the Clash of the Avengers over for now, Stark retreated back to the New Avengers Facility, checking on James Rhodes' current state as his body was X-Rayed.  
Stark then questioned exactly how Vision could make a mistake like that and Vision admitted he had been distracted by Scarlet Witch, which neither he nor Stark had known could happen.

Stark then stepped outside of the operating room when he was then approached by Natasha Romanoff, to whom he then explained Rhodes' condition before he told her that he was disappointed she allowed Steve Rogers and the Winter Soldier to escape, inadvertently leading to Rhodes' accident.  
Although Romanoff insisted that they had made all of the wrong actions in trying to resolve their situation, Stark then called her a double agent for assisting Rogers.

Stark told her that T'Challa had informed Thaddeus Ross about her betrayal, and that the government and the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre would likely come to arrest her.  
When she insisted they went about this wrong, he then commented that betraying people was something Romanoff seemed unable to help.  
He made no attempt to help or detain her as she fled the facility to go underground showing he was losing faith in all of his own former teammates.

THE RAFT

In order to find Steve Rogers, Stark went to visit the Raft, where his teammates were imprisoned.  
On his way to the prison, F.R.I.D.A.Y. informed Stark that the therapist who was supposed to do Bucky Barnes' psychological evaluation, had been killed by Helmut Zemo from Sokovia.  
She told him that Zemo had framed Barnes for the terrorist attacks as Stark realized that he had been wrong.

Upon arriving at the Raft, Thaddeus Ross greeted Stark who tried to immediately organize the hunt for Zemo in order to bring him to justice, however Ross noted that in the wake of the Clash of the Avengers he would not be taking orders from Stark, claiming that Stark was lucky not to be arrested himself.  
Although Ross did not believe Stark, he allowed him to speak to the prisoners, as Stark saw that Scarlet Witch's powers being kept under their control.

As Stark walked through the cell block, Clint Barton got to his feet and expressed the fact that he was enraged at Stark's supposed betrayal of his former Avengers teammates. Stark argued that he did not know that Barton would end up there, with Barton noted the place was for criminals, which Stark had made them all.  
Stark argued that Barton had walked away from his wife and children to break the law, accusing Barton of choosing the wrong side to fight for.

As Stark walked away, Barton slammed his hands against his cell wall and accused him of being willing to break their backs, referring James Rhodes' injures during the recent fight.  
Stark then walked past Scott Lang, who said Hank Pym was right not to trust the Starks, due to his relationship with Howard Stark.  
Stark however calmly asked him who he is as he walked past, much to Lang's disappointment.

As he approached Sam Wilson, who asked about Rhodes' condition, Stark asked him to tell him where Steve Rogers had gone.  
Wilson did not want to do it, but Stark admitted that since learning about Zemo he knew that he was wrong not to listen earlier and that he wanted to help Rogers.  
Stark knocked out the audio feed, so Wilson then told him that Rogers was heading for the a HYDRA base in Siberia, telling Stark to go alone to assist Rogers in stopping Zemo.

Knowing Ross would be of no aid with the hunt for Zemo due to his desire to bring the Winter Soldier in custody for his believed part in T'Chaka and many other deaths, Stark decided to withhold the information.  
As Stark made his way towards his helicopter, Ross questioned if Wilson had given him intel about where Rogers was, but Stark denied it and promised not to answer all Ross' calls if he contacted the New Avengers Facility while he departed.

While onboard his own helicopter, Stark then considered how he now would approach Rogers in the wake of everything that had happened before he donned the Mark XLVI in his helicopter and flew to Siberia, using the rain to cover his movements in the hope that Ross would not follow him and arrest Rogers.  
However Iron Man was unaware that Black Panther was actually following behind him while onboard his own Jet to find and kill Barnes once and for all.

MELMUT ZEMO'S SECRET

Entering the HYDRA Siberian Facility, Iron Man pulled open the doors and saw Captain America and the Winter Soldier were waiting for him, ready with their defences.  
Greeting the pair, Stark noted that Rogers seemed defensive, with Rogers noting it had been a long day, before Stark told the Winter Soldier that he was not currently targeting him because he had decided to listen to Rogers' points.

Noting that Thaddeus Ross did not know that he was there and he wanted to keep it that way as he was currently violating the Sokovia Accords by even talking with Rogers without Ross' approval.  
Stark agreed to put aside the arrest warrant for the two to help them find Helmut Zemo before he could unleash the Winter Soldiers, with Stark calling the Winter Soldier the Manchurian Candidate and asking him to put down his weapon as he promised they would not fight.

Upon reaching the main room however, all the Mark XLVI's thermal scanners revealed that Zemo had killed the Soldiers instead before the man revealed himself within a bunker where he explained that he had successfully managed to bring Stark to the base, after a year of planning.  
Rogers realized that Zemo was from Sokovia and wanted revenge for the Battle of Sokovia.  
Blaming the Avengers for the loss of his family, he had orchestrated a plot to tear them apart.

Zemo then played the video footage of the night that Stark's parents died, revealing that HYDRA used the Winter Soldier to assassinate them in order to steal the Super Soldier Serum inside their car trunk.  
Stark watched in complete horror as the footage showed the Winter Soldier brutally killing Howard Stark by using his Prosthetic Arm to crack his skull before breaking Maria Stark's neck without emotion before shooting the camera that had captured their deaths.

Having finally learned the truth of what happened to his parents, Stark processed everything that he had just been shown before he then furiously demanded Rogers to tell him if he had known that Barnes had killed his parents.  
Rogers responded that he had known their deaths had been ordered by HYDRA but was unaware that Barnes had been the killer.  
Stark instantly saw through the lie and demanded the truth forcing Rogers to reveal that he had known it had been Barnes for years but hid that fact.  
Horrified that his friend and fellow Avenger had been lying to him for years, Stark took a step back to consider his next actions in response to this news.

BATTLE AT THE HYDRA FACILITY

Already enraged by the fallout of Steve Rogers' questionable and biased actions over the past few days, Stark snapped and attacked the Winter Soldier to avenge his parents. Donning his helmet back on, Iron Man struck Rogers in the face and shot the gun out of the Soldier's hand before flying him across the facility and pinning him down by forcing his foot against his arm and aiming a blaster shot at his skull.

While they fought, Helmut Zemo made his escape from the facility.  
Iron Man attempted to shoot the Soldier point blank in the face, but Captain America ran to his aid and threw his shield at his to deflect the attack before he attempted to push Iron Man off the Soldier.  
Acknowledging their friendship, Iron Man tried to force Rogers out of the fight using the leg clamps which Rogers soon broke free of.  
Iron Man grabbed the Winter Soldier and flew him into the wall.

The Winter Soldier managed to use his Prosthetic Arm to damage Iron Man's repulsor beam in his hand by crushing it.  
In response, Iron Man aimed a missile directly at the Winter Soldier's face, which he managed to push out of the way, causing it to destroy much of the entire HYDRA Siberian Facility around them.  
While the pair became separated, the Winter Soldier regrouped with Captain America while Iron Man was briefly trapped under all of the debris.

As the Winter Soldier made his way towards the exit, Iron Man freed himself and chased after him, only for Captain America to stand in his way.  
While Captain America insisted that his parents' deaths were not Barnes' fault as HYDRA had control of his mind and it had been ordered by Vasily Karpov, Iron Man ordered him to move.  
Captain America damaged Iron Man's leg stabilizers before Iron Man used the laser to trap Captain America while he went for Barnes.

While Iron Man quickly caught up with his target, who was attempted to climb up the building to reach the helicopter hatch in the roof, Iron Man kicked him across the facility and took aim at him yet again with a deadly kill shot.  
However Captain America refused to stand down from the fight, deflecting a lethal repulsor back at Iron Man, disabling the Mark XLVI's targeting system and using a wire to pull him down when Iron Man continued to chase after the Winter Soldier.

When Captain America threw his shield at him, Iron Man was able to shoot it out of the air, leaving Captain America now defenceless and unable to aid Barnes.  
As he could no longer target Barnes with his missiles, Stark opted to trap Barnes within the bunker for their final showdown.  
With F.R.I.D.A.Y. informing him that his weapons systems could not target him, Iron Man used his own eye to aim and shoot at Barnes, destroying the main hatch and trapping him inside.

With Barnes now trapped inside, Iron Man charged towards him as they engaged in hand to hand combat until Iron Man began crushing him under the Mark XLVI's weight.  
Holding him there, Iron Man then questioned if he even remembered killing his mother and father, with the Winter Soldier insisting that he remembered everyone who he had killed for HYDRA.  
Captain America jumped at the pair, knocking himself and Iron Man back down to the ground floor.

FINAL SHOWDOWN

As Iron Man and Captain America faced each other, Captain America insisted that nothing would change what happened all those years ago.  
Here Iron Man stated in no uncertain terms that he was done listening to Rogers as the Winter Soldier had killed his own mother which he would not forgive before Stark then charged forward and attacked his former friend, willing to even kill him in order to get to the Winter Soldier.

Iron Man quickly overpowered him in melee combat before Barnes intervened by striking him with Captain America's Shield, turning the fight into a two on one brawl.  
Iron Man responded to the uneven odds by blasting Captain America with a repulsord before he was forced against the wall by Barnes.  
The Winter Soldier attempted to remove the suit's Arc Reactor with his robotic arm to which Iron Man unleashed a Unibeam disintegrating the majority of the arm.

A recovered and enraged Captain America then stormed at Iron Man in order to defend Barnes from being executed, deflecting repulsor fire with his shield before forcing Iron Man back against the wall and pummeling him relentlessly.  
Despite having the Mark XLVI to protect himself from all of the attacks, Iron Man soon found himself outmatched due to the Super Soldier Serum that had given Captain America all of his strength and his superior fighting skills.

Realizing he was incapable of competing with Captain America in close quarters hand to hand combat, Iron Man ordered F.R.I.D.A.Y. to analyze Captain America's movement patterns to find weaknesses to exploit.  
Iron Man overpowered Captain America in combat and then blew away the shield and brutally beat him into submission, using his suit's strength and repulsors to give himself the advantage and attacks Rogers.  
Unable to counter them all, Rogers is overwhelmed.

Exhausted from the fight, Captain America tried once again to reason with Iron Man, defending Bucky Barnes as his friend before Stark commented that he had also once been his friend.  
Iron Man then beat Rogers down even more and tossed him aside.  
When Rogers got to his feet to continue the fight, claiming that he could do this all day, Iron Man aimed his repulsor beam directly at his face and gave Rogers a final chance to stand down and end the fight.

As Rogers stood unyielding, Stark realized he would never stand down and charged a repulsor.  
A wounded Barnes grabbed Stark's boot, distracting him and Stark kicked Barnes in the face.  
This diversion allowed Rogers to turn the tide of the battle, using his own shield to destroy the Mark XLVI's helmet.  
Instead of killing Stark however, Rogers smashed his shield into the main Arc Reactor, destroying it and leaving his armor now completely powerless.

Left covered in blood and now running purely on the suit's backup miniature Arc Reactors, Stark was unable to continue fighting as Rogers reclaimed the shield and helped Barnes onto his feet.  
But as he watched them leaving, Stark claimed that Rogers did not deserve his shield, since his father had made it in World War II.  
Rogers then dropped his Vibranium shield, returning it to the Stark family, and left the scene with Barnes, leaving Stark behind alone.

SPIDER-MAN'S BEGINNING

After their battle in Siberia, Stark and Happy Hogan dropped Peter Parker back off at his apartment in New York City and told Hogan to give the Spider-Man Suit to Parker.  
A shocked Parker asked if he was allowed to keep it, which Stark confirmed.  
He also advised Parker not to do anything rash and not to stress Hogan, who would monitor all his activities.

Parker then asked when would their next mission happen, with Stark assuring Parker that someone would call him up.  
Stark then hugged Parker, covering up by saying he was getting the door for him and he and Hogan drove off.  
For two months, Parker would report to Hogan about all his activities as Spider-Man, telling him about the crimes he stopped as the Spider-Man, which Hogan would then send to Stark himself along with Parker's activities as the Spider-Man.

PICKING UP THE PIECES

With his friendship with Captain America seemingly done for finished and the rest of the team either on the run or locked away, Stark had started searching for a new purpose for the Avengers in the wake of their leadership falling apart all around them.  
Having taken Peter Parker to his home, Stark returned to the New Avengers Facility where he began considering what the Avengers could become without Captain America.

At the same time, Stark had also developed some new technology in order to help James Rhodes to walk again in the wake of his injury during the Clash of the Avengers.  
When Rhodes fell while testing the technology, they discussed the fallout of the Sokovia Accords and Rhodes' belief that they had done the right thing.  
Stark then received a package from the mailman, who misread his name as "Tony Stank" to Rhodes's amusement as he began mocking Stark.

Stark found a phone and letter from Steve Rogers, apologizing for keeping the truth about Stark's parents from him, telling Stark if he would need Rogers' help, he and the rest of his team were just a phone call away. By this time, Rogers freed the imprisoned Avengers team from the Raft and Thaddeus Ross called Stark for help.  
Stark put Ross on hold by pretending to be busy with something else, thus letting Rogers and his Avengers team escape successfully.

ADVISING SPIDER-MAN - ENCOUNTER WITH VULTURE

When Stark was attending a party in India, Peter Parker tried to stop illegal smugglers working for the Vulture, but only to end up being dropped and drowned in a lake.  
Stark used the tracker he installed in the Spider-Man Suit and sent Mark XLVII remotely to save him, arriving just in time to pull Spider-Man out of the lake before he could drown.

Taking Spider-Man to a nearby park to calm down, Stark then asked him what he had been thinking trying to take down those criminals instead of letting other people to handle this.  
Parker questioned if he had put a tracker in the suit, to which Stark admitted that he had put everything in his suit, including the heater which dried him.  
Parker asked if those people were the Avengers only to be told by Stark that it was below their own pay wage to go after the Vulture.

Stark asked Parker to forget about the Vulture because he said so, accidentally screaming in the middle of the party.  
He then said to him to continue helping the little people, but Parker was convinced he was ready for more now, claiming that Stark also thought so when had took on Captain America during the Clash of the Avengers.  
Stark ensured him that if he had wanted to, Captain America would have defeated him with some ease during their pervious fight.

Stark finished the call by telling Parker that if he saw the weapons being sold by the Vulture's Crew again, he was not to get involved himself and to immediately to call up Happy Hogan and let him deal with the situation.  
Having given Parker this advice, Stark then hung up the call and sent the Mark XLVII back to the New Avengers Facility while he drove away from the party, leaving Parker then to consider everything that he had just been advised to do by Stark.

SKIRMISH ON THE STATEN ISLAND FERRY

Deciding to take Peter Parker's information seriously, Stark alerted the FBI to the illegal activities.  
Days later, Stark called up Parker to apologize and praise Parker for his actions in saving his classmates in Washington, D.C..  
Parker however was in the middle of trying to stop Vulture's Crew in the middle of a weapons deal at the Staten Island Ferry and spent the phone call trying to distract Stark before he eventually hung up on him, much to Stark's annoyance.

Suspicious, Stark decided to suit up in his Mark XLVII and arrived just in time to see the Ferry; Parker was on about to be torn apart thanks in part to Spider-Man's and the Vulture's recent battle, during which a rogue Chitauri Gun had lost control and fired all the way down the ferry.  
As Spider-Man had already defeated both the Shocker as well as Mac Gargan, Iron Man then proceeded to fix the Ferry by pushing it back together while Spider-Man could only just watch on.

By using his own Stark Industries technology and the lasers in his armor to meld the cut in the Ferry back together.  
When Spider-Man had asked if there was anything he could do to help, Iron Man simply told him that he had done enough before finishing saving the ferry.  
Iron Man then ordered Spider-Man to meet him in New York City so that he could then chastise Spider-Man for disobeying him and putting his own and other people's lives at risks by his own actions.

Parker accused Stark about not caring what was happening with the stolen weapons, only for Stark to step out of his suit and told Parker that he did listen to him and that he was the one who contacted the FBI.  
Furthermore, Stark revealed that he was in fact the only one who believed in Parker's potential, despite his age, and that if someone had died there due to his actions, it would be on his conscience and if Parker himself died than his death would be on his forever.

Parker told Stark that he was just trying to be like him, only for Stark to tell him that he wanted him to be better than him and demanded Parker give the Spider-Man Suit back, much to Parker's dismay as he claimed that he was nothing without the suit.  
Stark replied that if he was nothing without the suit then he shouldn't have it.  
Parker - much to his reluctance - gave the suit back and Stark sent him home to his Aunt May with some clothes Stark had bought him.

SPIDER-MAN'S OFFER

In the wake of Spider-Man successfully stopping the Vulture and his gang from stealing an entire plane full of the Avengers' weapons and technology directly from Avengers Tower, Stark decided to send Happy Hogan to Peter Parker's school in order to take him into the New Avengers Facility.  
Upon arrival, Stark met up with Parker and apologized for being so harsh on him previously and told him that his actions in stopping Vulture proved he was ready to be a hero.

Stark explained that he had gathered together reporters to meet him before showing Parker the new version of the Spider-Man Suit, as Stark told him to put it on, so he could introduce him to a bunch of reporters as the newest member of the Avengers, noting he would have a room by Vision.  
However, Parker declined, wanting to stay on the streets and look out for the citizens of New York City as a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, much to the great surprise of Stark.

Stark, although a little disappointed, accepted Parker's decision, still offering him one last chance to take his offer which Parker said no to, telling Hogan to take Parker back home. Before leaving, Parker then asked if that was a test, to which Stark lied and said it was.  
However, as soon as Parker exited the building, Pepper Potts came through asking where Parker was as all of the reporters were waiting, only for Stark to say that he was now not going to be there after all.

Now wondering what they were going to tell the press, Stark asked Hogan for the engagement ring which the latter had been keeping for years.  
Potts however assured them that they would be able to come up with something better and kissed Stark before they went out to meet the press although Hogan still threw Stark the ring as a last resort.  
Stark had the second suit delivered back to Parker, believing that the young hero had earned the right to wear it again.

THANOS' INVASION - PREPARING FOR AN END

Months later, working at the New Avengers Facility, Stark, guilty that he got distracted, began work on a suit that could be used by him to defend the world by himself

DISASSEMBLED

Stark and his allies could only wait in terror for Thanos to achieve his goals, and unlock the powers of all combined Infinity Stones.  
Many of his allies began disintegrating into ash, including Doctor Strange and the Guardians on Titan.  
Stark could only tearfully watch as Spider-Man began disintegrating in his arms, emotionally apologizing for failing him.  
Stark and Nebula remained on Titan, with Stark distraught over the loss of his friends, and Thanos' victory.

 

PERSONALITY (okay finally done talking about the movies, lets get onto the weirder stuff I put onto this)

Many people in the media think that Tony Stark is only just an egocentric playboy.  
As an adult, he was renowned for being casually arrogant, apathetic, callous and a hedonist who enjoyed the finer things in life, namely drinking, gambling, partying and flirting. However, it is shown throughout the series that Tony does actually care for people, especially his friends.  
Although Tony causes trouble on occasion, he is more than willing to make up for his mistakes, which is also why he became a superhero.  
Eccentric, brilliant, outgoing and cocky, Tony is a classic playboy, with his wealth, power, and natural charm allowing him to get just about any woman he wants.  
But despite his rather carefree and overly confident personality, inside Tony's heart lies loneliness, as Ho Yinsen aptly described him as: "A man that has everything, but has nothing".  
Even following his reformation and birth as Iron Man, this stigma surrounding Tony persisted as many were quick to point fingers at him believing his arrogance and callous attitudes were the cause of many problems even if he would have only a tenuous connection to the issue at hand.

Before his kidnapping, Tony was a self-centered, arrogant person and war profiteer who didn't truly care for many people other than his closest friends.  
Even during this period of his life, he had a moral code believing the weapons he developed were being used exclusively by the United States and its allies for peaceful purposes but never caring enough to actually look too deeply into his company's dealings.

During the following years, however, Tony has matured, gradually becoming more of a team player and becoming somewhat less arrogant and cynical.  
He even began opening up and having a real relationship with Pepper Potts.  
Tony's exploits as Iron Man have lead him to reevaluate his life, thus Tony now strives to use his inventions in a more responsible and considerate way.  
A textbook example of a Byronic hero, he never fully let go of his character flaws, however, using them to push him forward as a reminder to do better and often making self-deprecating jokes or comments.  
Despite this attitude, Tony was an exceptionally brave individual as shown when he single-handedly faced a near-omnipotent Thanos armed with nothing but a sword, a trait that earned him the Titan's genuine respect as a hero.

His experiences while imprisoned by the Ten Rings, especially his injury and seeing his weapons being used by terrorists, hardened Tony into a brave, determined, and somewhat ruthless fighter, despite his sarcastic and enthusiastic personality remaining intact.  
Seeing first hand how innocent people were being harmed by his weapons and business while he remained ignorant greatly enraged him and motivated him to become a better man.  
This experience gave him an emotionally detached view to combat with Tony being perfectly willing to kill an enemy should the need arise particularly those whose goals paralleled those of the Ten Rings, in particular Doctor List of HYDRA.  
Despite this, he was also willing to punish his enemies without killing them, as he left Abu Bakaar at the mercy of the villagers his men were attacking and left several HYDRA soldiers in Sokovia alive but wounded.  
He was not entirely merciless however offering several of Aldrich Killian's men a chance to stand down and allowing the sole survivor to leave peacefully upon surrendering.  
Even when confronted by Captain America's betrayal, he offered the man several chances to step aside.

Even after starting a new life as a superhero, Tony's showy personality has never fully changed - as demonstrated in having the Iron Man suit with hot-rod red and gold, and in revealing his identity in public despite being told not to.  
Tony has also shown a strong liking towards heavy metal and rock music groups like Black Sabbath, AC/DC, and Queen.  
He also shows signs of being a gearhead owning and modifying several expensive cars, having a particular liking towards the Audi R8 model line.

Tony is also known for being exceptionally intelligent and innovative, having built an miniaturized Arc Reactor from scratch in Afghanistan.  
His intellect has earned him the "Da Vinci of Our Time" nickname, and his inventions of Stark Industries have revolutionized technology for mankind.  
His past as a businessman had turned him into a very pragmatic individual always taking the quickest, most efficient way out of a problem commenting to Captain America that he would simply "cut the wire" when given the scenario of laying on barbed wire to let others cross it.  
This behavior put him at odds with the majority of the Avengers during the Avengers Civil War, as they were unwilling to compromise and negotiate with the United Nations regarding the Sokovia Accords which Tony viewed as the easiest way to continue the Avengers' mission of saving people and appease the public's growing fear and unease regarding the team.  
As a result of this negotiator attitude, Tony was one of three Avengers to not become a fugitive by the end of the Civil War and allowed to continue saving people with the support of the United Nations.  
This pragmatism extended to his fighting style.  
When confronted by Ten Rings terrorists holding people hostage he simply switched to a more accurate weapon to kill his foes.  
During the Avengers Civil War, he displayed this again, having F.R.I.D.A.Y. scan Captain America's fighting style for weaknesses as well simply blasting the Captain away when he and Barnes attempted to tag team Stark and often using his repulsors to enhance his melee combat.

Even though he can appear to be self-obsessed, Tony can also be a reliable friend, and occasionally shows affection toward his teammates.  
Hence, Tony was the only Avenger who encouraged Bruce Banner to embrace his identity of Hulk as a blessing rather than a curse, and trusted him to make good use of Hulk's powers.  
He has also adopted a mentor role towards the young Peter Parker, seeing himself in the young hero, and helping him become better by designing an advanced Spider-Man Suit and quietly teasing him about his aunt May Parker, whom Stark considers attractive.  
When Tony was caught up by the terrifying vision of Scarlet Witch, he was possessed with great fear of losing all his friends on the Avengers team, and having to live on after they had all been murdered.  
During battle, Tony tries his hardest to protect his allies, risking his own life if he has to, notably when he personally carried a nuclear missile through the Tesseract's portal. During the Avengers Civil War, however, Tony became distant and hardened towards his former teammates, especially Captain America, for their stubbornness, although he does still care for them, as he went as far as to warn Black Widow that the government are coming for her and also gave Rogers repeatedly chances to peacefully and legally settle their feud.  
Even when angered by Rogers concealing the truth behind his parents' deaths, he still was willing to ask him to stand aside and let him claim revenge on Barnes, although when Rogers refused to stand down, Tony was quick to match his aggression.  
After calming down and reflecting on what happened, Tony even allowed them to escape the Raft.  
His magnetic personality made it easy for him to befriend others, becoming close to Doctor Strange and the Guardians of the Galaxy in the short time they fought together and being visibly saddened at their deaths.

After the Battle of New York, Tony developed a strong fear, that in this new world of "gods" and "aliens", he would be unable to protect the ones he loves, which induced him to become paranoid and full of anxiety.  
which, in turn, influenced Tony to build first the Iron Legion, and then the Ultron AI, so that the only threats against Earth were from Earth itself.  
Despite good intentions, Tony's plans to protect people tend to cause problems at times, most notably after his creation Ultron violently rebelled against humankind, requiring the combined might of Tony and his Avengers teammates to bring down.  
These attacks, that resulted in thousands of civilian casualties, appear to have changed Stark's attitude, as he appears more responsible, serious and hardened, despite his mischievous, wise-cracking nature still remaining dominant.  
This was seen during his visit to the Raft where he steadfastly refused to take Hawkeye's bait and be reduced to petty insults, instead maintaining a calm and controlled exterior, as well as casually asking Ant-Man who he is.  
His fear gave him something of a perfectionist personality and caused him to so intently focus on issues and problems that he unconsciously ignored other matters around him which led to a strain in his relationship with Pepper Potts and his somewhat negative reputation in the Avengers.

Compared to his fellow Avengers however, Tony was very forward-thinking, always seeing a "big picture", willing to take risks, compromise his morals and dabble in shades of gray to achieve results.  
As seen with the Sokovia Accords, Tony was willing to endure hardships in the present to build a better future.  
This behavior often put him at odds with his fellow Avengers, especially Captain America, who were content with the status quo.  
Combined with his unpredictability, some people such as Scarlet Witch thought he was destructive, with her claiming that Ultron's inability to distinguish between saving the world and destroying it comes from Tony.  
In reality, however, Tony was simply running into some errors during his attempts to plan ahead.  
Eventually, some, especially Thor, learned to appreciate these traits when it resulted in Vision, a being Mjølnir deemed worthy to wield it.  
Thor eventually left Earth to search for the Infinity Stones after he'd conceded that Tony's proactive approach to problems was the superior one.  
The negative stigma surrounding this attitude never dissipated however as during the Avengers Civil War and his subsequent imprisonment in the Raft, Hawkeye mocked this attitude, calling Tony a "futurist" who believed he knew what was best for everyone whether they liked it or not.

During times of great stress and frustration, Stark could become very short-tempered and intolerant of those whom he considered his intellectual inferiors for delaying a solution to the problem either mocking/berating them or ignoring them entirely.  
This behavior extended to both allies and foes.  
During the Ultron Offensive, he abrasively mocked Thor to his face for being short-sighted, despite the mighty Asgardian lifting him by the neck seconds earlier.  
After Ultron's defeat, Tony became better at controlling this aspect of his personality, but never fully let go of it, as seen when he argued with Captain America about the Sokovia Accords in the JCTC headquarters, or when he reproached Peter for making a unilateral attempt to stop Vulture without coordinating with others.

Tony was much closer to his mother, Maria Stark, than to his father.  
Hence, during his fight with the Winter Soldier, avenging her was Tony's priority.  
When Rogers tried to stop Tony from attacking Barnes, Tony simply responded with an angry "I don't care, he killed my mom.".  
Indeed, Tony had very mixed feelings about his father Howard Stark, whom he felt had been "cold and distant", which Nick Fury, however, claimed to be false.  
Tony finally came to believe this after learning that Howard wanted Tony to complete his work with the Arc Reactor, and he chose to honor his father's wishes.  
Tony had at least gained enough of a better opinion of him that he later defended Howard's memory by stating the Captain America's shield was Howard's property and that Rogers had proven unworthy of wielding the weapon by defending the Winter Soldier and hiding Howard's murder.  
Though having learnt more of Howard's flaws and shortcomings, Tony still retained lingering issues with his father using his parenting as an excuse for being such a strict mentor to Spider-Man.  
He was aware of this flaw however and consciously attempted to grow out of it.

Following the Avengers Civil War, Stark adapted into a new role: that of a mentor to the inexperienced superhero, Spider-Man.  
He connected with Parker due to the similarities between that of him and Stark, such as their love of science, technology and heroic deeds, yet Tony was not blind to Spider-Man sharing some of his flaws and does his best to stop him from making the same mistakes Iron Man himself has made in the past.  
Like most mentors, Stark encourages Parker to be more forward-thinking, advancing his technology and banters him regarding his attractive May Parker, whom Stark flirts with. However, he can also be strict regarding his treatment, such as not allowing him the full capabilities of his Spider-Man suit via Training Wheels Protocol, and later taking it back completely when his recklessness and over-reliance on the suit itself caused innocent lives to be put at risk.  
He was visibly disappointed and hurt when Parker revealed he was attempting to emulate him as Stark had wanted him to be better than him.  
Though he could come off as somewhat aloof and detached in his dealings with Spider-Man, this was all done with the intent of making Parker a better superhero than Tony ever was, and after the defeat of Vulture, Stark believed he had succeeded even going so far as to offer the young hero a spot in the Avengers.  
Some months later, their relationship had strengthened to the point that Tony openly weeped when Parker was among those killed upon Thanos completing the Infinity Gauntlet.

Though considered a hobby, obsession or part of his itinerary, Stark considers the relationship between the Iron Man Suit and himself to be symbiotic, in that he and the suit himself are one.  
By the time of Aldrich Killian's terrorist attack, he had designed 42 variations of the armor as well as having stylized them with their own color designs, personalities and names. He often referred to his suit as "he" when he was remotely controlling it with Potts and exclaimed when the suit's finger was pulled off, claiming it would hurt him.  
This is further supported during the Avengers Civil War where his suit loses its bulk and designs them to be more form-fitting like it's his second skin.  
However, he does claim after the Clean Slate Protocol, that despite being without his suits he is still Iron Man.

Prior to fighting Thanos, Tony expressed a desire to have children.  
Either due simply wanting a family, or because he knew it was only going to be biologically possible for Pepper for a few more years.

 

POWERS AND ABILITIES

Tony Stark does not possess any innate powers, instead, he uses a miniature version of the Arc Reactor to charge the various suits that provide him with superhuman strength, endurance, durability, and a variety of weapons.  
His original advanced technology combined with his extraordinary intelligence and adaptive combat skills makes Tony Stark one of the most formidable superheroes and a force to be reckoned with.  
Aside from Thor and Doctor Strange, Tony Stark was the third person to stand his ground and fought the Infinity Gauntlet empowered Thanos the longest, even managing to give him a cut on his cheek and earn the respect and admiration of Thanos himself.

SUPPORT POWERS

-flight  
-superhuman strength  
-superhuman reflexes  
-armor systems  
-energy conversionpower recharge  
-self contained life support system and enviromental protection  
-heads up display  
-armor summon  
-mini thrusters  
-immunity to water damage  
-EMP projectiles  
-powered clamps

DEFENSIVE POWERS

-superhuman durability  
-advanced combat analysis

OFFENSIVE POWERS

-repulsers  
-unibeam  
-lasers  
-smart mini-guns  
-tank missiles  
-Direct Cybernetic Interface  
-armor link

ABILITIES

-Genius-Level Intellect  
-master engineer  
-master scientest  
-master hacker  
-expert businessman  
-Expert Tactician  
-skilled leader  
-Multilingualism  
-Skilled Martial Artist  
-marksman  
-pilot

 

TRIVIA (my favourite bit tbh)

-When Tony Stark calls Rhodes, the ringtone is the original Iron Man theme song from the 1966 TV series.

-He considers calling his autobiography "A Cheap Trick and a Cheesy One-Liner".

-Tony Stark's official net worth stands on $12.4 billion.

-Stark is prone to dramatic pauses followed by an unemotive "Son of a bitch" in the event of an epiphany, as demonstrated when he realized Loki was seeking to use Stark Tower to mount his assault on New York and the revelation Helmut Zemo had framed The Winter Soldier for murder.

-Stark has a prototype shield of Captain America.

-Hawkeye mockingly calling Stark "The Futurist" is a reference to a studio album that Robert Downey, Jr. made in 2004

-According to his S.H.I.E.L.D. file, Tony can speak English, Spanish, Italian, and Dari

-In the comics, Tony Stark is a member of the Illuminati, a group made of the smartest and most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe, including Blackagar Boltagon, Stephen Strange, Bruce Banner, Medusa, Hank Pym and T'Challa.

 

BEHIND THE SCENES 

-Robert Downey, Jr. was uncredited for his appearance in The Incredible Hulk.

-A recurring theme in the Iron Man films is birthdays. In Iron Man it is Pepper Potts' birthday; in Iron Man 2, it is Tony Stark's birthday, and in Iron Man 3, it is Christmas (Jesus Christ's birthday). It can even be said that in The Avengers it is the "birth" of The Avengers and in Avengers: Age of Ultron it's the "birth" of Ultron and Vision.

-Throughout The Avengers, Tony is seen wearing a Black Sabbath t-shirt, a reference to the band's song "Iron Man". Despite the fact the song was created with no link to the Marvel comic, the Iron Man film series have often adapted the song to use in film and advertisements. However, in the novelisation of the first film, Stark chooses the name himself rather than being given it by the press, naming his alter-ego after his favorite song.


	2. Howard Stark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -Just a disclaimer, most of this is from 'Captain America: The First Avenger' and the 'Agent Carter' series   
> -Obviously no spoilers unless you are planning to watch agent carter or ca civil war

HOWARD STARK

Howard Anthony Walter Stark was an inventor, engineer, movie director, businessman and founder of Stark Industries.   
During World War II he worked on various government projects, including the Manhattan Project and Project Rebirth, and helped the Strategic Scientific Reserve fight against HYDRA. He constructed the second shield of Captain America, and after the war he located the Tesseract, which had been lost in the Atlantic Ocean.

A year after the end of the war, Howard was framed for distributing weapons to enemies of the United States.   
He put his friend Peggy Carter in charge of the effort of finding proof of his innocence.   
Eventually his name was cleared when it was proved that Johann Fennhoff was framing Stark in an attempt to gain revenge for the Battle of Finow.   
He later founded Stark Pictures while assisting Carter research and understand Zero Matter.

Later in life, Howard married a woman named Maria and had a son, Tony.   
He also co-developed the Arc Reactor with defected Soviet scientist Anton Vanko.   
Stark was also one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D. where he worked with Ant-Man.   
Eventually, Stark would push his son away, but did care for Tony and had high hopes that he would change the world.   
When he became a threat to HYDRA, having managed to either create or obtain the Super Soldier Serum, Stark and his wife were assassinated by his former ally Bucky Barnes, better known as Winter Soldier.

 

BIOGRAPHY - EARLY LIFE  
POOR UPBRINGING

Howard Stark was born on Wednesday, August 15, 1917 in Richford, New York to a father who sold fruit and a mother who sewed shirtwaists for livings.   
Whilst growing up in the lower east side in New York City he became good friends with future gangster Joseph Manfredi.   
Growing up, he learned that society puts limits to success based on ones' economical status or gender, so he became good at lying to get what he needed.  
He became an industrial genius, multi millionaire, inventor, and businessman, attending multiple international conferences, such as the one where he met Doctor Abraham Erskine in Geneva, Switzerland, in May 1934.

 

WORLD WAR 2 - STRATEGIC SCIENTIFIC RESERVE

In 1939, Stark launched Stark Industries.   
A year later, at Ciro's, Los Angeles, California, Stark began a demonstration which would showcase Vibranium, a metal discovered by Stark Industries researchers in Africa.   
Later, Stark met with Colonel Chester Phillips after being attacked by HYDRA assassins.   
He agreed to join Phillips' newly created Strategic Scientific Reserve.

He participated in the rescue operation where the SSR agent Peggy Carter saved Doctor Abraham Erskine from the castle of Johann Schmidt, the head of Hitler's special weapons division HYDRA.  
Under Stark's guidance, his company began producing planes for the American war effort following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.   
His innovations later earned him a spot working on the Manhattan Project.

In 1943, Stark was at the Modern Marvels of Tomorrow exhibition, demonstrating new technology that could allow cars to hover; however, the technology was not yet perfected and the car crashed to the ground.   
In the audience watching the performance were Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes along with their dates Connie and Bonnie.   
Secretly, Stark was working with the Allies in order to help in World War II, performing multiple experiments for them and working as their weapons specialist.

 

PROJECT REBIRTH

Stark was instrumental in "Project Rebirth", the project of the SSR that Steve Rogers underwent in order to become the U.S. Army's first super soldier.   
When Doctor Abraham Erskine asked how things were progressing, he confirmed everything was ready although there was a risk they would take much of the power away from the city when they began.

Stark and Erskine began their work as they used the Vita-Ray Chamber Stark had built to douse Rogers with Vita Radiation after receiving the Super Soldier Serum from Doctor Erskine.   
Once Erskine had given a speech to Chester Phillips and the others attending the experiment, Stark activated the machine.   
When Rogers screamed in pain, Stark was ordered by Peggy Carter to shut down the machine only for Rogers to insist they continue, despite his reluctance due to the risk of killing Rogers, Stark continued to raise the levels to one hundred percent.   
The process successfully transformed scrawny Steve Rogers into the muscular Captain America.

However immediately after the experiment concluded, Erskine was assassinated.   
Rogers managed to catch the assassin, who killed himself with a Cyanide Pill before he could be arrested and then interrogated.   
Rogers did however capture the HYDRA submarine that the assassin had attempted to escape in and Stark was tasked with understanding its technology, which he said was years ahead of the Allied technology.  
With the death of Erskine, the only formula of the Super Soldier Serum was lost forever as well.   
Blood samples of Steve Rogers were taken to try to recreate the serum; from the twelve taken, one was given to Howard Stark.

 

WORKING WITH CAPTAIN AMERICA

Instead of being used as the soldier he was intended to be, Steve Rogers was used as a propaganda tool and traveled to help spread encouragement and hope.   
Shortly before one of his performances in Italy, many soldiers were captured by the enemy.   
Peggy Carter convinced Stark to fly Rogers to the HYDRA factory in Austria.   
Stark asked Carter if she wanted to join him after the mission for a late night fondue; Rogers thought they were already in a relationship.   
Rogers leapt from the plane and he completed his mission, helping all the allied soldiers escape.

Once Rogers had returned from the mission Stark was stationed at a secret SSR base and met with Steve Rogers again, who gave him a piece of HYDRA tech which Rogers claimed was the most powerful explosive known to man; Stark was doubtful but took the device for testing anyway.  
Stark questioned that Roger should be giving a speech now but Roger claimed he had ended his show tour.   
They were then greeted by Chester Phillips who congratulated Rogers on humiliating Senator Brandt by not showing up.

Stark later explained to Rogers what he meant by the earlier fondue reference and they had a brief talk about minds of women, as Rogers had upset Agent Peggy Carter by making some misguided and foolish comments and being caught kissing Private Lorraine.   
Stark noted that rather than think too much about the mindset of women, he preferred to focus his efforts on his work, which currently involved keeping Rogers alive during his next mission against Red Skull.   
Stark then showed Rogers a collection of new shields he had designed for him, as Rogers had now grown attached to the one he had taken on the mission, which had since been damaged by Red Skull.

Rogers chose a prototype Vibranium shield; while trying it on for size, Stark explained that it was made from the rarest metal on Earth, which could only be found in Wakanda and therefore they could not make more than one version.   
Finding the pair admiring the shield, Agent Peggy Carter arrived and fired four gunshots at him to test its strength, noting that it did indeed work.   
Rogers then told Stark that he had his own design ideas for his new uniform.

 

TESTING THE TESSERACT

Stark and his team of scientists were tasked with testing the power source of the weapon that Steve Rogers had given him earlier after stealing it from the Red Skull's Austrian HYDRA Weapons Facility, trying to learn its potential as well as it's possible origin.   
As the experiments took place and Stark's team made notes about the device's energy signatures, Stark felt the device was not as impressive as he was told it was and commented on Rogers' lack of scientific understanding of the device power while Stark continued his own experiments.

Beliving that the Tesseract was in fact harmless and Rogers had misunderstood and over-exaggerated it's power, Stark prepared to pull it apart with his machinary.   
However when the device was touched, it exploded unexpectedly, shattering the glass and throwing Stark backwards.   
Stunned by the amount of force, Stark could only jokingly say "write that down".   
Stark began working on ways to understand and counter HYDRA's deadly new power.

 

BATTLE OF FINOW

In 1944, Stark was ordered by General John McGinnis of the US Army to design a gas that would keep soldiers awake for days.   
However, his experiments failed.   
The final product, which he named the Midnight Oil, caused symptoms similar to sleep deprivation, anger, hallucinations, and psychosis.   
Stark decided not to hand it over to the United States Armed Forces in fear of the damage that it could cause to allied or enemy soldiers.

However, General McGinnis had other plans, stealing the gas which his soldiers dropped on the Soviet troops near the German town of Finow, hoping to help them crush the German defenses.   
The gas turned the soldiers into bloodthirsty savages, and hundreds of them killed each other.   
A day later, Stark arrived at Finow and saw the carnage.  
He returned from there distressed and began construction of his vault in his mansion.

 

ATTACK ON HYDRA HEADQUARTERS

When Captain America successfully captured the HYDRA scientist Arnim Zola, at the loss of Bucky Barnes, the Allies were able to learn of Red Skull's plan to destroy much of the world.   
Howard Stark joined Captain America and the Howling Commandos as Chester Phillips discussed their mission plan, noting what was at risk if Red Skull succeeded in his plan.   
A plan was devised by Rogers to attack the base alone then be joined by the rest of the US army.

 

LOSING CAPTAIN AMERICA

In March 1945, Captain America crashed the Valkyrie in the ocean with the Tesseract.   
Stark refused to abandon his friend, and charted multiple expeditions out the ocean to search for him.  
A month later, Peggy Carter led a team including Dum Dum Dugan and Jim Morita to the HYDRA Research Facility Number 4, where Werner Reinhardt and his soldiers were arrested.   
The objects confiscated there, including the Obelisk, were sent to Stark to be studied.   
While there, Carter felt that an organization would be needed during peace time to safeguard people against dangerous technology and to monitor people like Howard Stark.

According to Peggy Carter, in May 1945, when Nazi Germany surrendered, Stark tried to kiss her to celebrate the victory, and she knocked him into the Thames river.   
Since he did not know how to swim, a group of frogmen had to fish him out and save him from drowning.   
However, it is possible that this story is just Carter's fabrication.  
Shortly after the V-E Day, while searching for Captain America in the Atlantic, Stark's expedition discovered the Tesseract, lying on the floor of the ocean after falling out of the Valkyrie during the crash.   
Stark attempted to figure out how the Tesseract worked, but had less than helpful results.

 

THE LAST TASK

After the disappearance of Captain America, Howard Stark joined the Manhattan Project and helped the Allied scientists build the first Atomic Bomb.   
The new weapon was used against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which forced the Japanese militarist government to surrender, effectively ending World War II.

 

POST-WAR LIFE - PLAYBOY LIFESTYLE

With the war over, Stark began enjoying the playboy lifestyle, parting with many high class celebrity women and sleeping with many others, always having Edwin Jarvis give them a Stark Special Bracelet as a parting gift to remember their time together.   
He continued to invent new weapons to be used in day to day situations, although many found new purposes such as the Constrictor.

In December, 1945, Stark dated Ida Emke and tried to impress her by inviting her to his mansion and one of his warehouses to see many of his inventions, including a self-flying plane and his vault full of weapons.   
The pair enjoyed each other's company for the weekend before Stark had Jarvis give her a Bracelet as the traditional parting gift.  
In January, 1946, Stark attempted to buy Roxxon Oil Corporation from his friend Hugh Jones; however, the friendship and deal ended when Stark had an affair with Jones' wife, turning the pair into bitter rivals.

 

STARK AND DUGAN

Agent John Flynn disciplined Peggy Carter for her insubordination in the 'Zodiac' case until the phone rang.   
Stark informed Flynn that the successful mission was more a notch in Carter’s belt than a feather in her cap.   
He went on to tell Flynn that he had decided that Carter was going to run S.H.I.E.L.D. alongside him.

Enjoying his discomfort at the concept, Stark then told Flynn that he was to inform Carter that he was honored to bring her the news.   
Stark later sat by his mansion's swimming pool wearing a robe later worn by his son Tony many years later.   
Dum Dum Dugan sat with Stark as they discussed bikinis.   
Dugan asked Stark if he invented them and he said no, bikinis were invented by the French, with Dugan transfixed by the beautiful women wearing them by the pool.

 

FUGITIVE

On return from holiday, however, some of his inventions, including a document with the formula of the explosive Molecular Nitramene as well as many other weapons, were stolen.   
This put the plans for S.H.I.E.L.D. on hold.   
He had discovered that someone had cut a hole into the vault in his mansion when he returned from a pleasurable trip to Monaco.   
Congressional hearings led by Senator Webster were held to determine if Stark was a traitor when some inventions were found overseas in enemy hands.   
Although Stark defended himself, much of America believed he had sold the weapons to the Russian army.

Believing that he would never be able to convince the public or government of his innocence, Stark decided to travel overseas to avoid being arrested and to recover his property. Stark met with Peggy Carter and commissioned Carter to recover his weapons and the Nitramene document before it was sold on the black market.   
He left his butler Edwin Jarvis to assist his friend on her mission, despite Carter's protests, before getting on a boat and leaving the United States.   
However, his absence at the hearings caused him to be labelled a fugitive, which put him on the top of the Strategic Scientific Reserve's most wanted list.

 

RETURN TO AMERICA

Stark paid smuggler Otto Mink a considerable sum to return from overseas and was collected by Peggy Carter and Edwin Jarvis.   
Mink's men attempted to get more money from Jarvis; however they were soon knocked out by Carter and Stark.   
As they were driving back to Stark's mansion, they soon discovered that several SSR agents were staking out Stark's intended safehouse; the SSR was more determined than ever to apprehend Stark, believing him responsible for Agent Ray Krzeminski's murder.

With nowhere else to turn, Carter was forced to take Stark to the Griffith Hotel where she was now living and where Stark had previously had affairs, much to Carter's dismay because she had to hide his presence from Miriam Fry.   
Once they arrived, Carter hid Stark in the dumbwaiter as she distracted Fry.   
Although they managed to get to Carter's floor, Stark did not make hiding easy with his flings with Lorraine and other tenants.   
The frustrated Carter pushed Stark into her room and claimed he was her cousin.

Stark promised that he would only be staying at the Griffith for three days before he flew to Rio de Janeiro, but first he asked Carter to go into the New York Bell Company and explore their lab to discover which of his inventions they currently held so he knew which ones were still being sold on the black market.   
When Carter asked why he was the one asking her to do this and not Jarvis, he explained that Jarvis did not have a Camera Pen, which he proudly revealed to her.   
Stark explained how it could be used so she could bring images of the inventions back to him.

 

LIES UNCOVERED

Once Peggy Carter returned they looked through the images together, including some earlier pictures Stark had taken of a previous lover.   
Stark informed her that he needed her to steal the Blitzkrieg Button, a container holding Steve Rogers' blood.   
Stark figured that Rogers' blood had extraordinary abilities, including the cure for the common cold, which he did not want to lose to the Strategic Scientific Reserve.   
However Stark did not want Carter to know what the device held, so he instead told her that it was a device which would cause a blackout throughout New York City if handled incorrectly.

When Carter returned with the Blitzkrieg Button, she had already opened it and discovered Stark's lie; she did not give Stark the sample.   
Furious at his lies, Carter punched and berated Stark for attempting to use something of their friend's for personal gain.   
Stark tried to defend himself, claiming that because of his family history he lied to protect himself and others from the truth, insisting that Rogers' blood could be used for so much good, keeping his legacy alive.   
Accepting that he should not have lied to his friend, Stark apologized but Carter did not accept and ordered him to leave.

Feeling guilty about his actions in lying to her, Stark later had Edwin Jarvis try to speak to Peggy Carter and reason with her, but the furious Carter ignored him as well.   
Stark waited at a shoeshine vendor for Jarvis, who claimed that, despite all the many times he had apologized for Stark over the years for various reasons, he also was disgusted by Stark's behavior with how he had treated Agent Carter.   
Shortly after Jarvis had left, the man sitting next to Stark asked to borrow the sports section of the newspaper Stark was using to hide his face from police; tired and frustrated, Stark handed the entire newspaper to the man.

 

SURRENDER TO THE SSR

Howard Stark and Edwin Jarvis entered the New York Bell Company Office and found it in ruins after a massive explosion just outside the window.   
They were greeted with guns drawn as Daniel Sousa ordered him to surrender; Stark explained that since he was not hired to build the security systems, he could easily bypass them, despite them being used in the White House.   
When Peggy Carter rolled her eyes, Stark joked that she had been missing him.

Stark was questioned by Jack Thompson who took offence at his laid-back attitude, reminding him of the deaths of Roger Dooley and Ray Krzeminski among those killed in the Massacre at the Cinema Theater.   
Stark explained that Johann Fennhoff was using a device called Midnight Oil which had been used by General John McGinnis in the Battle of Finow.   
He told the agents how he had invented the gas to give the allied soldiers more energy, but accidentally made a poison gas which McGinnis had used without his permission and Fennhoff wanted revenge for the massacre of Russian soldiers.

A plan was devised for Stark to make a public announcement where Fennhoff would likely attempt to kill him, allowing the SSR to capture him.   
As Stark had Jarvis assist him with getting ready, he also spoke to Carter about the plan, with Stark noting that the bullet proof vest provided was junk.   
He took time to examine his inventions and was horrified at how they had been kept before finding his own bullet proof vest.   
Carter insisted that he reconsider the plan but Stark claimed he needed to redeem himself in her eyes.   
As they were leaving Stark quietly stole the Blitzkrieg Button.

 

FENNHOFF'S REVENGE

In their attempt to draw Johann Fennhoff into the open so he could be captured, Stark and the SSR set up a press conference presenting Stark as no longer a fugitive, but a hero, believing that Fennhoff would be forced to come and attempt to kill him.   
Stark ensured that Jack Thompson gave a long winded speech where he continued to compliment Stark, much to Thompson's annoyance.   
Fennhoff was not deceived; setting up a rifle to fire at the hearing.

When Stark and Edwin Jarvis attempted to escape in the chaos, they discovered that Fennhoff was using Officer Pike of the New York City Police Department as his thrall and he was able to capture Stark while Jarvis was helpless to save him.   
Pike did not listen to Stark's attempted bribes and delivered him to Fennhoff and Dottie Underwood, who killed the officer.   
As they drove along, Underwood held Stark at gunpoint and reminded him of their time together a few months earlier, although Stark failed to remember her name of "Ida Emke" and as a result was hit in the face.

Dottie Underwood and Fennhoff took Stark to one of his warehouses that Stark had shown Underwood months earlier; he still did not recognize her as "Ida Emke".   
Fennhoff explained his hatred for Stark; his brother was killed when Midnight Oil was deployed in Finow and, since Stark was its creator, Stark was ultimately to blame.   
Stark explained that he did not want the gas deployed; Fennhoff did not care and hypnotized him to fly a plane over the V-E Day anniversary celebration in Times Square, dispensing nine canisters of Midnight Oil, hoping the chaos would destroy New York City.

Flying the plane, Stark was continually hypnotized by Fennhoff using the radio.   
Suddenly Peggy Carter interrupted and begged Stark to return to normal.   
In his trance, he revealed that Captain America was his greatest creation and he wanted to find his true friend so he and Carter could be reunited.   
Knowing that if Stark reached the city, Jarvis was tasked to shoot him from the sky, Carter cried for Stark to let Rogers rest in peace and let him go.   
Carter's words finally got through to Stark and he freed himself of Fennhoff's mind control before turning around and returning to the hanger.

With New York City saved, Stark hugged Carter and Jarvis, thanking them for their help before he finally remembered Ida Emke's name.   
Stark thanked Carter and Angie Martinelli by giving them one of his houses free of charge.   
In response to the incident, Stark decided that no one could be trusted with his inventions, so he began a legal battle with the United States Government to have them returned and destroyed.   
Stark was informed by Jarvis that the Blitzkrieg Button was lost when he was captured by Fennhoff, leading him to believe that Captain America's blood was gone forever.

 

STARK PICTURES

Moving out to Los Angeles to procure a defense contract, Stark was impressed by the scene and founded Stark Pictures, his own movie production company.   
Bringing Edwin Jarvis and his wife Ana Jarvis with him, Stark focused his efforts on seducing the location scout while also purchasing exotic animals, including a pet flamingo he named Bernard Stark, much to Jarvis' frustration.

During this time, Stark added to a special car that he had for dates.   
In this leisure car was a button that adjusted the driver seat to a fully horizontal position if necessary, a special compartment with a change of clothes, and windows with adjustable tints for privacy.   
There was also a beacon inside, which Jarvis called "the sock on the doorknob", which Stark would activate when he wanted Jarvis to retrieve the car if Stark had abandoned it.

 

CAMPAIGN FINANCER

To get the favor of any elected official, Stark gave campaign contributions to all candidates; this garnered him tickets to campaign parties and rallies.   
Two tickets in his name were given to Edwin Jarvis for the campaign fundraiser Calvin Chadwick was having.

 

ZERO MATTER

Stark started directing his movie based on the Kid Colt comic book.   
During the filming of a major duel, Peggy Carter and Edwin Jarvis disrupted production by accidentally getting in the shot.   
The frustrated Stark called for lunch and went to speak to the pair, suggesting that Carter play one of the roles while she claimed a movie based on a comic book was a terrible idea, despite Stark arguing that the movie was actually a historical drama about a real life cowboy.

Returning to Stark's home in Los Angeles, Carter showed him footage of the creation of Zero Matter.   
Stark was incredibly impressed by the discovery and listened as Carter explained how Jason Wilkes had worked on it and been framed as a communist after his death as a result. Stark found a pin seemingly belonging to Wilkes which would make him a member of the Arena Club, a group which only allowed white older males as members which Stark had refused to join.   
Carter revealed that Dottie Underwood had tried to steal one of the pins, but Stark struggled to remember his own past kidnapper.

Stark continued to relax and think with a collection of beautiful women he called his production assistants.   
Carter and Jarvis returned to discuss the Arena Club further, but Stark continued to dismiss them as nothing more than old rich white men.   
Carter explained she wished to sneak a recorder into their meeting room to make them incriminate themselves which Stark dismissed as a dull plan.   
Carter however insisted that it would be to his liking and stole his drink to convince him to listen to her further.

 

CAUSING CHAOS

Following Peggy Carter's plan, Stark and Edwin Jarvis went to the Arena Club claiming they were interested in becoming members.   
Stark however complained about not getting a martini and the lack of anything exciting happening.   
Stating that the club needed more women, Stark opened the doors and welcomed his production assistants inside, which also allowed Carter to sneak through the club.

Stark was tasked with ensuring that the members and staff of the club were too distracted by the chaos him and his ladies were causing to notice Carter's investigation, a task he took great pleasure in, giving Jarvis the task of making the martinis while he enjoyed the company of the women and watched the security teams panic.   
Stark continued to speak to Torrance about how he was now enjoying the club until Jarvis informed him it was time to leave, at which point he claimed the club was terrible and left with the women to go back to his swimming pool.

 

WORKING WITH JASON WIKES

Peggy Carter returned to Stark's home in a panic as she had seemingly been infected by Zero Matter.   
While Stark ran some experiments, Daniel Sousa questioned how and why this was happening.   
Stark revealed that Carter was colder than everything around her, like Jane Scott, Meltzer and Andrew Henry before they died.   
Stark however believed that Carter was not dying due to the strange gravitational field around her and set about proving his theory.

Stark and Edwin Jarvis went into his lab where he had been working on a chemical mixture for processing film reels, intended to push Stark Pictures ahead of the competition. Spraying the mixture around Carter, he revealed Jason Wilkes, who had been turned invisible in the Zero Matter explosion, although Carter was unable to touch him.   
Wilkes revealed that when he had tried to steal the Zero Matter, Whitney Frost had stopped him and caused the explosion.   
Before he could reveal anything more, he began to fade away again before Stark could bring him back.

Stark and Jarvis stepped outside where he asked for more materials to bring Wilkes back, also requesting cheese and Fondue.   
Stark commented on how good a team Jarvis and Agent Carter made, noting that she put a spring in his friend's step; Stark made it clear that if Jarvis wished to leave his position to work alongside Carter full time then he would support the decision, but Jarvis assured him he was happy in his current position.   
Carter joined them and asked if she could help at all but Stark insisted that he would work day and night to figure out the solution in order to help save Wilkes.

Remaining true to his word, Stark stayed up all night drinking coffee until he made Wilkes visible for an extended period of time, becoming so casual around Wilkes that he began walking through his body in the search for more coffee.   
After a second full night of working, Wilkes impressed Stark enough to be ordered a position in Stark Industries, Stark decided to go to Peru to seek the help of Abner Brody.   
Stark informed Agent Carter of this decision, while she tried to convince him to get some sleep.   
While Stark frantically got ready to leave, he put Wilkes in charge and told him that Jarvis would help in anyway that he could before storming out to find his passport

 

STOPPING WHITNEY FROST

Stark sent Peggy Carter a design for a Gamma Cannon to assist her in her mission against Whitney Frost; later, he and Edwin Jarvis were called by Aloysius Samberly to help him rescue Carter, Jason Wilkes, Jack Thompson, and Daniel Sousa from Frost.   
Stark was driven by Jarvis to the Los Angeles Waste Management Facility where their car struck Frost, much to Stark's horror due to Frost's reputation as a movie starlet but Jarvis reassured him that she would be fine.   
They then ordered everyone to get in the cars to escape.

Stark and the rest went to the Strategic Scientific Reserve office to study Wilkes and form a plan to stop Frost.   
Wilkes described his experience inside the Zero Matter rift as filled with nothing but darkness, much to Stark's annoyance as he had hoped for something more interesting than nothing.   
However Wilkes insisted that Zero Matter was like a cancer that if Frost got her hands on, she could use to infect the entire planet.   
Stark then confirmed that Wilkes was completely clear of Zero Matter, although he was mildly ill before joking about how Carter's life was often being threatened.

 

DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

Stark returned to his mansion, where as he ate with Peggy Carter and Jason Wilkes, they discussed the number of portraits Stark had of himself around the mansion. Wilkes commented on their plan to build a new Gamma Cannon as it would still cause the Zero Matter to be struck on Earth; Stark suggested they build a containment unit so he could study it in greater detail at Stark Industries. Carter called it a terrible and clearly highly selfish idea.

Joseph Manfredi & Howard Stark  
Stark speaks with Joseph Manfredi

When Stark ran out of mustard, he shouted for Edwin Jarvis to bring more. However, Jarvis was held captive by Joseph Manfredi. Stark soon revealed that they knew each other. Manfredi asked the group to help him save Frost from the Zero Matter. Manfredi told Stark that Frost was planning to open another rift and Carter came up with a plan to beat Frost at her own plan by opening the rift first and taking the Zero Matter from her. Stark suggested they steal Frost's plans, and Carter and Daniel Sousa then left with Manfredi for him to distract Frost while they retrieved her research.

Howard Stark - SSR (2x10)  
Stark discusses the name of the machine

Once he had copies of Frost's plans, Stark began studying them with Wilkes and Aloysius Samberly at the Auerbach Theatrical Agency. The three quickly figured out what Frost had planned and progressed to arguing over the naming rights to the machine. Carter broke in and asked if they had made a plan; Wilkes replied that there were many problems to overcome. Carter told the three that they were brilliant and would solve the problem, walking away and naming the machine herself. Stark, Samberly, and Wilkes agreed that her name idea was good and returned back to their real work.

 

While everyone worked together to build the machine, Stark worked closely with Rose Roberts, flirting with her about her hands, much to the annoyance of Samberly who tried and failed to join in with the conversation.   
Eventually they were interrupted when Jack Thompson arrived and asked how he could help; Carter asked him to collect the dinner orders, which he agreed to due to his lack of skills as a scientist.   
Working through the night they eventually built what Carter had already named as the Rift Generator.

 

CREATING THE FINAL RIFT

The next morning they set up with Rift Generator at Stark Industries and discussed their plan for attracting creating the Rift that would undoubtedly attract Whitney Frost to them. Once Jason Wilkes had discussed the dangers of their experiment, noting that they could not step too close to the rift for fear of being sucked inside, Stark activated the machine and caused the rift to open in front of the group.

While they waited for Frost to arrive, Stark amused himself by playing golf and attempting to hit the balls into the rift, although he struggled to get even close.   
When Peggy Carter asked for an update, Wilkes mocked Stark for his misunderstanding of his priorities.   
Becoming more and more frustrated by constantly failing to hit the rift, Stark asked Edwin Jarvis what he was doing wrong, Jarvis commented on the fact that they were currently standing in front of what he described as an incomprehensible rip within the fabric of their world, before suggesting he instead use a different club for his swing.

Eventually Daniel Sousa warned the group that Frost had finally arrived on the set and was making her way towards the rift.   
Stark and Jarvis got behind the Gamma Cannon, took aim and fired it at Frost, causing the Zero Matter to be ripped from her body and sucked inside the rift, while she begged them to get it back, Carter, Sousa and Jack Thompson took her into custody.   
Stark however quickly realized that there was an issue with the machine as it was not closing the portal, noting that Cannon was still recharging and the machine could only be shut down by getting close to it.   
Stark bravely volunteered to shut it down himself as did the rest of the group until they realized that Sousa was already doing it by himself.

As they watched Sousa attempted to shut down the machine by hand, they discussed other methods, with Jarvis running to try something.   
Suddenly Sousa's rope broke free and the group were forced to hold on to it to keep him out of the rift.   
However Jarvis returned and decided to use Stark's Hovercar to drop the Gamma Cannon inside the rift and detonate it there.   
The plan worked and when the hover car exploded, the rift was shut down, with Stark commenting to Jason Wilkes that it did indeed work as Wilkes had previously doubted it, while the exhausted Sousa was left to collapse.

 

HIRING JASON WILKES

Back at Howard Stark's Mansion, Stark and Peggy Carter argued about him being given the Zero Matter to research for the benefit of humanity until Jason Wilkes arrived and teased him about it.   
Stark then revealed to Carter that he had decided to hire Wilkes into Stark Industries to work on some new and exciting project that he had come up with while working in Peru. Stark then informed the pair that he would be going for a swim, warning them that he intended to do it in the nude.

 

START OF S.H.I.E.L.D

Stark founded S.H.I.E.L.D. in 1949, along with Peggy Carter and Chester Phillips.

 

LATER YEARS

In 1954, Stark created the Stark Expo, a world wide technology fair where the world's new technology would be presented to show a bright future for mankind, promising a better world for everyone.  
Stark eventually married a woman named Maria.  
He continued developing weapons for the United States Armed Forces and S.H.I.E.L.D. during the Cold War.   
He met several American presidents, including Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard Nixon.

Stark co-developed the Arc Reactor with Anton Vanko.   
Though the power of the Arc Reactor was immense, Stark saw it as the stepping stone to create a new, stable element that would render nuclear power obsolete.   
However, Vanko saw the Arc Reactor as a way to get rich and when Stark found out, he had Vanko deported.  
Some time after that, he took on Obadiah Stane as a partner.  
In 1970, Howard and Maria had a son, Anthony "Tony" Stark.

Stark was limited by the technology of his time and could not finish the new element he had discovered, so he embedded the atomic structure of the new element in the 1974 Stark Expo model, and a message to Tony in one of his old home movies, stating that he had high hopes that Tony could figure it out with the current technology and change the world.   
Stark told his son in the film that he "is and always will be" his greatest creation.

 

WORKING WITH HANK PYM

In 1987, Stark asked Hank Pym for his Ant-Man Suit so that S.H.I.E.L.D. agents could use it to stop the radicals in East Berlin who were reverse-engineering HYDRA technology. Pym refused and said that he will be the only person to use the Pym Particles, accepting the mission for himself.   
Peggy Carter helped Pym train for the upcoming mission.   
When Pym returned, he informed Stark and Carter about what had happened during his time in Berlin.   
Stark tried to forbid Pym from doing any more missions, but Pym reiterated his statement that he would be the only one to use the particles and implied that he was willing to do further missions for the organization.

However, in 1989, Hank Pym announced his resignation from the organization before Stark, Peggy Carter and Mitchell Carson, after he had discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D. was trying to replicate the Pym Particles from the Ant-Man Suit, showing his anger by slamming Carson's head on the desk after he insulted him.   
Stark tried to convince him to stay, noting that he should not let the death of his beloved wife Janet van Dyne ruin the good work he had done.   
Pym did not listen and left the Triskelion and went into retirement, vowing to never allow anyone to get his formula.

 

WINTER SOLDIER'S ATTACK

One Christmas, Stark and his wife prepared to go away for a few days and leave their son alone, although Stark remained highly skeptical about how responsible Tony would be while they were gone.   
Eventually, Howard managed to recreate the Super Soldier Serum.   
Unfortunately for him, HYDRA's operative Vasily Karpov learned about his success.  
Howard and his wife Maria were killed in an automobile "accident" secretly arranged by HYDRA on Long Island in 1991.

As the Winter Soldier attacked his car and made it crash against a tree, Stark managed to get out and call for help for his wife Maria.   
He recognized the Winter Soldier as Sergeant Bucky Barnes, a former member of the Howling Commandos, but the Winter Soldier attacked Stark by repeatedly punching him in the face with his metal arm and cracked his skull - so Stark would appear to have died by his head crashing into the steering wheel - and then he placed the deceased body back in the seat before strangling the horrified Maria to death and stealing the Super Soldier Serum from the car.

 

LEGACY - TONY STARK'S STRUGGLES

Tony Stark inherited Stark Industries becoming, at age 21, the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company.  
Twenty-one years after becoming CEO, Tony watched the 1974 message video and examined the Expo model, helping him discover the new element, noting that his father was still teaching him even after being dead for nearly two decades.   
The new element was the key to a safer and more powerful Arc Reactor, which Tony needed to power the electromagnet protecting his heart without poisoning his blood.

Creating a miniature Particle Accelerator in his basement lab, Tony was able to synthesize the new element, upgrade the design of the Arc Reactor to clean his blood, and create the Mark VI armor.  
Captain America was happy for his old friend that had a successful life and raised a family, seeing a lot of him in his son, Tony.   
Unfortunately, Rogers would later have to fight Tony after they discovered that Rogers's ally, the Winter Soldier, had murdered Tony's parents.   
After defeating Tony, Steve gives up his shield when Tony tells him that it belongs to Howard as he helped make it, out of sympathy for both Tony and Howard.

Howard was memorialized in a mural in Midtown School of Science and Technology and he had a highway named in his memory, Howard Stark Memorial Parkway, in Long Beach, California.  
In 2015 a biography was published about him entitled "The Life and Times of Industrialist Howard Stark."

 

PERSONALITY

During his early life, Howard was considered to be quite charismatic and comical.   
He was well-known for having flings with different women, sometimes attending the Academy Awards to be around actresses.   
He had a jeweler create the "Stark Special", a bracelet created of the highest quality of gold and diamonds, to be given to each lover after he had Edwin Jarvis dismiss them. However, he eventually settled with a woman named Maria and had a son, whom they named Tony.

Sometime after his son's birth, his personality drastically changed.   
Howard's relationship with Tony was seemingly a strained one as Tony, for most of his life, saw Howard as a cold, calculating man and even believed Howard wanted to be rid of Tony, so much so, he believed Howard's happiest day was when he sent Tony off to boarding school.

Howard was shown to be very cautious as he left a film message for Tony in the event he died before Tony was old enough to understand the contents of the message.   
The contents of the film stated Howard left something very important behind for Tony, which ended up saving his life, and stated he actually loved his son more than anything in the world, even saying Tony is, was, and always has been his greatest creation.

According to Tony, Howard had a habit of talking about Captain America non-stop.   
He felt that, before the birth of Tony, that Captain America was his greatest creation largely due to the perception that all he created were weapons of mass destruction.   
Howard also saw Captain America as a good friend and was deeply loyal to him, having made several attempts to find him after he disappeared in the Ocean.   
Even though he tried everything in his power him, Stark kept an underlying guilt about not finding Steve Rogers when he sought him after his disappearance.

Howard is also shown to be quite sarcastic, a trait he carried with him until his death.   
Mere hours before his death, he sarcastically insulted Tony who just got home from studying abroad by asking who's the "homeless person on the couch" was.   
He also believed sarcasm is correlated to a person's intellectual potential, possibly stemming from his own intellect and sarcasm.   
As such, he believed Tony would amount to great things with his life, having told his son that during their last conversation.

 

ABILITIES

-Genius-level Intellect  
-Master Engineer  
-Master Scientist  
-Master Businessman  
-Master Pilot  
-Multilingualism

 

HOWARD STARK'S DESIGNES

-Modified Car  
-Hovercar  
-Vita-Ray Chamber  
-Captain America's Shield  
-Captain America's Uniform  
-Captain America's Motorcycle  
-Nitramene  
-Constrictor  
-Blitzkrieg Button  
-Electroshocker  
-Camera Pen  
-Havoc Reactor  
-Photonic Amplifier  
-Midnight Oil  
-Stark Heat Vest  
-Self-Piloting Airplane  
-Jitterbug  
-Gamma Cannon  
-Tony Stark's New Element

 

FUN FACTS 

-In the comics, Howard Stark was retconned as no longer being Tony's biological father: he and Maria adopted him after their child, Arno, had to be hidden away due to a developmental disorder  
-Howard Stark kept a garage filled with Cadillacs; Tony Stark kept a garage filled with sports cars.

 

BEHIND THE SCENES

-In Avengers: Age of Ultron when Ultron is processing information when he became self-aware, an image of Howard Stark can be seen, being a morphed image of both Dominic Cooper and John Slattery.  
-Howard Stark is one of a few characters to be played by a different actor in different films. The others are James Rhodes, Bruce Banner, Fandral, Thanos, and Red Skull.  
-In an unused draft of Iron Man, Howard Stark was featured as still alive, a ruthless businessman and the main villain, who adopted the identity of "War Machine".  
-Howard Stark's appearance and personality in Iron Man 2 were based on that of Walt Disney, founder of the The Walt Disney Company, the parent company of Marvel Studios and Marvel Entertainment, though they had not yet acquired Marvel at the time Iron Man 2 was filming.   
Howard's appearance and personality in Captain America: The First Avenger and Agent Carter, however, much like his son, is based that of Howard Hughes.   
Much like Hughes, Howard Stark is a successful inventor, industrialist, and pilot, who had relations with a bevy of women, including several famous movie stars, and who also ventured into the film industry.


	3. Ten Rings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -This is about the terrorist organisation the ten rings  
> -They're like only in the iron man trilogy even though I mention ant-man   
> -Once again, no spoilers unless you've never watch any iron man movies before

TEN RINGS

The Ten Rings is a terrorist organization dedicated to destroying world peace by any means necessary.   
It is believed to be led by a mysterious man known as the Mandarin.   
When they attacked and abducted Tony Stark in Afghanistan, Stark secretly made a powerful suit of armor to escape, which gave him the superhero alias, Iron Man.

 

HISTORY - FOUNDATION

The history of the Ten Rings is shrouded in mystery.   
Several members believed their leader, the Mandarin, had inspired generations of men since the Middle Ages, perhaps even further back in time, implying that the organization was hundreds of years old.   
Some even described the organization as "faith".  
All branches of the Ten Rings operated as individual cells, with every cell operating independently of each other.   
The leaders of each cell had no idea who anyone was in any other cell save for one contact.   
Each cell would receive money and weapons and as long as they received them and the leaders did not ask questions.

Being a multinational organization, members of Ten Rings branches speak multiple languages, including: Arabic, Dari, English, Farsi, Hungarian, Mongolian, Pashto, Russian and Urdu.

 

KIDNAPPING OF TONY STARK

By the beginning of the 21st century, the Ten Rings were operating mainly in Afghanistan.   
Stark Industries' second in command, Obadiah Stane sold weapons illegally to at least one cell to help them achieve their purposes, and later made a deal with them to attack and massacre a military convoy.   
The attack on the convoy stopped once they realized the convoy included Stark Industries' CEO Tony Stark on a business trip to Afghanistan.   
The cell took him prisoner, filmed a video informing Stane that he would need to pay them more to kill such a target, and meanwhile they attempted to force a captive Stark to build them a Jericho missile.

After weeks in captivity, Stark created a suit of armor powered by invention of a miniaturized arc reactor, rather than the weapon he was tasked to build, and successfully escaped. Stark upgraded the suit the following days after his return to the United States into the Iron Man armor, and attacked various camps of the Ten Rings, destroying their weapons from Stark Industries and their members.   
Days later in the desert, the Ten Rings found the remains of the armor Stark used to escape and rebuilt it in an attempt to learn his secrets and build an army of Iron Man suits. Ten Rings commander Raza proposed a deal with Obadiah Stane, he would give him the armor free of charge only if Stane supplied him with an army of Iron Soldiers.   
Stane refused, instead betraying and paralysing Raza and taking the suit for himself.   
Stane's men then executed the remaining Ten Rings soldiers, and possibly Raza.

 

NEW ATTACKS

Some time after Tony Stark became Iron Man, S.H.I.E.L.D. began fighting the Ten Rings. On one occasion, S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury sent a team of U.S. Navy SEALs to board a ship controlled by the Ten Rings in the port of Aden.   
However, Iron Man suddenly appeared and attacked the terrorists.   
Though the Seals were outnumbered by the terrorists, Iron Man had no problems with killing all the terrorists and saving the Seals.  
Some time later, a member of the Ten Rings aided Ivan Vanko to travel to Monaco in order to seek revenge on Stark.  
Around the same time, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanoff ruined one Ten Rings operation.   
She boarded the Ten Rings plane and caused its destruction.   
After that action, she was sent by Nick Fury to infiltrate Stark Industries under the guise of Natalie Rushman.

Soon, through various agents, the Ten Rings began buying parts of the Jericho missile from the Russian arms dealer Mikhail Fjodorov.   
When Fjodorov stopped delivering parts of the missile, the Ten Rings agent Richard Frampton hired an assassin named Sofia to kill him.   
Frampton and his men successfully assembled the missile, which they intended to detonate near the border between Russia and North Korea, which would greatly destabilize the world peace.   
However, Sofia was followed by S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanoff who infiltrated the launch area and destroyed the missile.   
Both Frampton and Sofia were killed in the explosion, while the remaining Ten Rings agents were arrested by Phil Coulson and his team.

After Tony Stark became a consultant to S.H.I.E.L.D., the Ten Rings set a trap for James Rhodes, a friend of Stark and pilot of a suit similar to Iron Man's, in order to take him and his suit, but failed.   
The soldiers of the Ten Rings informed their leader, the Mandarin, that they managed to scan the suit during the battle of Hong Kong and take enough information that would help them with their revenge on Tony Stark.

 

COPY-CAT TERRORISM

After the battle of New York, Aldrich Killian, the founder of Advanced Idea Mechanics, needed to masquerade his failed experiments with the Extremis virus as terrorist attacks.   
His think tank co-opted the iconography of the Ten Rings for their deception.  
Killian employed the failed actor Trevor Slattery to pose as the Mandarin and publicly take responsibility for those "terrorist attacks".  
The real leaders of Ten Rings, an organization with religious beliefs going back thousands of years, were not happy with this impostor.

 

KIDNAPPIN OF TREVOR SLATTERY

After the battle on the Norco and the death of Aldrich Killian, Trevor Slattery was arrested and incarcerated at Seagate Prison.   
The Mandarin decided to meet him in person and take back his name.   
He sent a Ten Rings agent, Jackson Norriss, disguised as a documentarian, that went to the prison, seemingly to make an interview with Slattery.   
However, Norriss' real intention was to kidnap Slattery so the Mandarin himself could punish him for stealing his name.

During the interview, when Norriss told Slattery that the Ten Rings organization is real, Slattery didn't believe him.   
Then, Norriss suddenly took a pistol hidden in his camera and killed the prison guards in the room.   
Though Slattery tried to threaten Norriss with a pistol from one of the dead guards, Norriss easily disarmed him.   
Norriss then notified his colleagues about the situation via a Walkie-Talkie Wristwatch and ordered them to attack the prison.   
As Slattery stared in disbelief, Norriss told him that someone wants to meet him.

 

INTREST IN PYM TECHNOLOGIES

A member of the Ten Rings was present at the Pym Technologies Headquarters when Darren Cross presented the Yellowjacket Suit to potential buyers.   
Working alongside Mitchell Carson's HYDRA cell, the agent drew his gun to execute Hank Pym and soon engaged in a fight with Ant-Man who had broken free of his cage to save Pym.   
Despite attempting to shoot the hero, the agent was quickly defeated and knocked unconscious.   
He was later killed when the Pym Technologies Headquarters imploded.

 

TRIVIA

-Jon Favreau has stated that the Ten Rings work for the Mandarin. The name of the organization is a homage to Mandarin's ten magical rings in Marvel Comics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave requests for things you'd like me to talk about or explain, and if I should start to add their comic book origins aswell!


	4. Dr Yinsen (Ho Yinsen)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -I know this guy is such a small character but I'm trying to put out all the characters from Tony Stark's movies first so I can move onto other ones later  
> -Again spoilers only if you've never seen the first iron man

HO YINSEN

Ho Yinsen was a renowned scientist and surgeon, hailing from the village of Gulmira.   
Yinsen was held captive, alongside Tony Stark, by the Ten Rings in Afghanistan, where he was charged with attending to Stark's medical needs when Stark was brought in injured from an explosive.   
Having lost his family to local terrorist activity, Yinsen helped Stark escape the cave, but willingly sacrificed himself in the process.

 

BIOGRAPHY - EARLY LIFE  
MEETING TONY STARK

Yinsen was an Afghan man from the small village of Gulmira.   
Eventually, he became a scientist after graduating from Cambridge University and started to work in Europe.

Ho Yinsen met Tony Stark on New Year's Eve in 1999 at Bern 2000 in Bern, Switzerland, after Stark delivered a lecture, while very drunk, on integrated circuits.   
Yinsen tried to introduce Stark and Maya Hansen to Dr. Wu, but Stark drunkenly brushed him off to focus his attention of Hansen.  
However, Stark would not even remember this encounter when he met Yinsen again years later.

 

IN CAPTIVITY - SAVING TONY STARK

Ten years later, Yinsen was captured by the Ten Rings, a terrorist group in Afghanistan.   
When the Ten Rings brought in Tony Stark, injured from an explosive used in their ambush, they charged Yinsen with keeping Stark alive.   
A skilled and resourceful field surgeon, Yinsen removed much of the shrapnel from Stark's body, and helped keep him alive long enough to build an electromagnet piece in his chest to keep the remaining shrapnel from entering his heart.

 

PARTNERS IN CAPTIVITY

Under captivity, Tony Stark and Yinsen were ordered by the Ten Rings to build a Jericho Missile similar to the one Stark demonstrated to the United States Armed Forces, or they would be killed.   
However, Stark refused and was tortured.   
Yinsen managed to motivate him and both men acknowledged that they would be murdered either way and instead focused on an escape plan.   
Stark revealed to Yinsen that he would use the parts that the Ten Rings gave them and build a weaponize suit of armor which he would use to kill the terrorists and return Yinsen to his family.

 

ESCAPE AND DEATH

Yinsen helped Tony Stark keep the Iron Man Mark I suit he was making a secret from their captor, Raza, and assisted in its creation.   
When Tony asked about Yinsen's family, Yinsen merely noted, "I will see them when I leave this place."   
Yinsen also pointed out the damage wreaked upon the region by the terrorists, using Stark's own weapons, and asked if this is what he wished "the legacy of the great Tony Stark" to be.

During the escape the terrorists were alerted to their plan, seeing there was not enough time to power up the suit, Yinsen took a gun and chased the terrorists away.   
He was shot and mortally wounded when he ran round a corner to be caught by dozens of terrorists.   
When Stark found Yinsen, mortally wounded, he reassured Stark, revealing that this had always been the plan as his family was dead and that he wished to be reunited with them. With his dying breath, Yinsen asked Stark not to waste his life.

 

ABILITIES

-Master Engineer  
-Expert Physician  
-Multilingual

 

TRIVIA  
-In the comics, Ho Yinsen was a physicist and engineer from Timbetpal, greatly admired by a young Tony Stark.  
-Yinsen's relationship with Stark mirrors Captain America's with Abraham Erskine, although Yinsen is more of a moral example to the then somewhat decadent Stark, whereas Erskine instead supports and affirms Rogers' pre-existing values.


	5. War Machine (James Rhodes)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -SPOILERS for Infinity War so be warned  
> \- War Machine is actually such an intreting character tbh   
> -also enjoy!

WAR MACHINE

Colonel James Rupert Rhodes, commonly known as Rhodey, is a U.S. military officer and jet pilot in the U.S. Air Force.  
He is the best friend of Tony Stark/Iron Man and the liaison between Stark Industries and the military in the Department of Acquisitions.  
When Stark was kidnapped by the Ten Rings, Rhodes led the mission to rescue his friend.  
He is known as War Machine when wearing his heavily-armed battlesuit but his alias was temporarily rebranded to Iron Patriot during Aldrich Killian's War.

Having shown his worth during the Battle of Sokovia in which he battled an army of Ultron Sentries, Rhodes became a member of the Avengers under the leadership of Captain America.  
However Rhodes soon came into conflict with his teammates when he and Tony Stark sided with Thaddeus Ross on the Sokovia Accords.  
This eventually led to a full-blown conflict between the heroes, with Rhodes taking his friend Stark's side.  
During a battle with Captain America, Rhodes was badly injured and nearly paralyzed from a friendly-fire attack, forcing him to retire from hero work.

Rhodes returned to the Avengers after a hiatus, becoming the team's liaison with the United Nations.  
Rhodes disobeyed the Sokovia Accords when he joined Captain America traveling to Wakanda, earning a court martial in the process.  
Rhodes participated in the Battle of Wakanda and alongside the other Avengers and Wakanda armies as well as the Guardians of the Galaxy killed all of Thanos's soldiers, only to be soon faced and effortlessly beaten by Thanos when he came personally to Wakanda alongside the other heroes, with Thanos successfully wiping out half of the universe after acquiring the Mind Stone from Vision, who died in process.

 

BIOGRAPHY - WORKING WITH STARK INDUSTRIES

James Rhodes first met Tony Stark at a young age and the two of them became best friends, in a close bond/rivalry that would last their entire lives.  
When he grew older, Rhodes was made a Lieutenant Colonel and, due to his continued friendship with Stark, became the liaison between Stark Industries and the U.S. Armed Forces.

 

MEETING ELOISE AND CELESTE

Tony Stark represented the newest weapon to the US Military at the Yuma Proving Ground.  
Stark's secretary Pepper Potts gave the weapon's specifics to the generals while he and Rhodes went to a night club.  
Stark enjoyed the company of two girls while Rhodes tried to convince him not to go to Afghanistan.  
Stark was attacked by a man whose girlfriend he previously seduced, but Rhodes defeated the attacker.  
Later, Stark, Rhodes, and the girls went to Tony Stark's Mansion. 

 

STARK MISSES HIS AWARD

Colonel James Rhodes attended a ceremony at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to present Tony Stark with an award for his work, telling the audience that he felt it was an honor to be the liaison between Stark Industries and the U.S. Armed Forces.  
However, as it turned out, Stark was not in attendance.  
Obadiah Stane instead accepted the award from Rhodes in Stark's honor, claiming that Stark would still be working.

Rhodes found his friend partying in a casino and scolded him for not attending the award ceremony, Tony Stark denied any knowledge that Rhodes was the one presenting the award.  
He continued to show little sign of taking anything seriously as he continued to joke, gamble and flirt with the beautiful women around him, even teasing Rhodes by asking him to blow on his dice; before long, Stark had lost his bet and decided to go home.  
As they exited the casino with Happy Hogan, Stark handed over the award to a member of the casino staff and promised Rhodes he would meet him outside his private jet first thing in the morning.

 

KIDNAPPING OF TONY STARK - WEAPONS PRESENTATION

The next day, Tony Stark did indeed arrive late to his meeting with Rhodes, having been having sex with Christine Everhart, Rhodes attempted to chastise his friend but was ignored.  
During the flight, Rhodes talked with Stark and made it clear that he was unhappy about Stark's lax attitude, and Stark tried to get his old friend to relax.  
Before long they were drunk and leering at the stewardesses.

Stark and Rhodes arrived at a military outpost in Afghanistan to demonstrate Stark Industries latest project - the Jericho, a super-missile system with terrifying destructive capabilities.  
After the demonstration, Stark went off with the Humvee convoy, jokingly telling Rhodes to wait for the next one.  
However Stark's Humvee was soon attacked by Ten Rings terrorists and Stark disappeared without a trace.  
Rhodes took command of the rescue mission to save his friend, although they were unable to find him in the mountains and deserts.

 

RESCUING STARK

Months later, after his escape from the Ten Rings, Tony Stark walked over more sand dunes until a couple of US military helicopters flew overhead, Stark yelled out until he caught their attention.  
A group of soldiers, led by Rhodes, ran to his aid.  
Rhodes was overjoyed to find that his friend was alive and took him back to America.

 

STARK STOPS BUILDING WEAPONS

Shortly after his return to the United States, Tony Stark appeared before a group of reporters and cameramen alongside Obadiah Stane.  
Rhodes watched the speech alongside Pepper Potts and listened as Stark announced that due to the horrors he had witnessed while kidnapped, he intended to shut down Stark Industries' weapons manufacturing division immediately, much to their surprise and the horror of Rhodes, Potts, and Stane.

Stark came to visit Rhodes while he was speaking to a young team of recruits, and asked for help with a new private project.  
Rhodes initially was delighted as he believed this meant that Stark had decided to reopen his work with the military; however, Stark revealed that this was a private project which in he did not intend to involve the military.  
Rhodes made it clear that he did not agree with Stark's approach and he thought Stark was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder because of his capture and needed time to recover.

 

CREATION OF IRON MAN

In Gulmira, Afghanistan, terrorists were rounding up civilians for capture and execution when they were confronted by a mysterious figure in red and gold.  
Iron Man had arrived.  
Within seconds, he easily defeated the terrorists and destroyed the weapons they had obtained.  
As Iron Man left the area, two F-22 Raptor jets spotted him.  
Rhodes was asked about the status of any new developments, which the others denied.  
He then contacted Stark, who claimed that he knew nothing about what was happening.  
Iron Man tried to outrun the jets but they were too much for him.

Stark called Rhodes and reveals that he was responsible for the "unidentified craft."  
Rhodes was furious about Stark sending in unauthorized equipment in US airspace, and horrified when Stark explained that the "equipment" was actually himself.  
Iron Man was hit by one fighter jet, sending him flying into the wing of the second jet.  
The pilot was forced to eject, but the parachute failed to open.  
Iron Man, still under fire, managed to fly in and successfully deploy the parachute in time to save the pilot's life.  
Later, Stark convinced Rhodes to pass off what happened with the jets as a "training exercise."

 

OBADIAH STANE'S BETRAYAL

Days later, Obadiah Stane arrived at Tony Stark's Mansion and paralyzed him with a Sonic Taser, intending to leave him to die and use the Iron Man technology himself to start a war.  
Stane yanked out the Arc Reactor from Stark's heart, taunting him all the while.  
After he left, Stark realized that he had only one hope for survival - the preserved Arc Reactor that Pepper Potts gave him in a display case.  
Stark got the power source installed just as Rhodes arrived, who had been earlier informed on what was happening from Potts, Rhodes helped him up as they prepared to fight back against Stane.

Rhodes watched Stark suit up, awestruck at the Iron Man costume, saying that it was the "coolest" thing he had ever seen, Stark asked for his assistance in keeping the military out of the way while he confronted Obadiah Stane.  
As Stark flew away, Rhodes looked at the prototype silver suit Stark built earlier, then shook his head and mumbled "Next time, baby."  
Acting on Stark's orders, he was able to prevent the military from getting involved in Iron Man's fight against Stane by passing it off as a routine training exercise.

 

MEETING PHIL COULSON

After Tony Stark's battle with Iron Monger, Stark and Rhodes were taken to a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. base where they encountered Agent Phil Coulson.  
Coulson reviewed Stark's technique from his fight against the Iron Monger, saying that it was good, but he needed to learn how become a real fighter, and that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would teach him how to fight.

 

IRON MAN'S SPEECH

Days later, Rhodes held a press conference about the incident with the two robots and tried to pass it off as a training exercise.  
He invited Tony Stark to the stage to go into more detail about the events, when Stark seemed to ramble, Rhodes reminded him to stick to the cards he had been given.  
Instead, Stark exposed himself as Iron Man, much to Rhodes' dismay.

 

QUESTIONING IRON MAN - MEETING SENATOR STERN

Senator Stern witnessed a broadcast of Iron Man saving civilians from an attack on a U.N. peace-keeping mission.  
Stern met with Rhodes about his issue with Stark not following United States National Security interest.  
Rhodes said Stark would probably never follow orders.  
Stern introduced Rhodes to General Thaddeus Ross with a plan to replace Stark with a new weapon, the Aerodynamic Marvel.

 

STARK'S MEETING WITH THE SENATOR

Six months after Tony Stark told the world he was Iron Man, James Rhodes was called upon to write a report analyzing Iron Man.  
He was used in an attempt to get the Iron Man armor handed over to the US Government by Senator Stern.  
He ended up speaking in Stark's favor.  
Also, Stark discovered that Justin Hammer had been trying to duplicate his armor, revealing this to the world.

 

HELPING STARK

After the meeting Rhodes tried to convince Tony Stark of the importance of an Iron Man suit directly under the supervision of the Pentagon, but instead Stark convinced Rhodes to try out the Mark II armor.  
Stark and Rhodes continued their discussion, while they were flying through the skies in their respective armors.  
However, after the flight Rhodes left, prompting Stark not to make him choose between their friendship and his duty.

Rhodes was forced to make several phone calls to the government to try to keep the peace after Tony Stark was attacked by a terrorist named Ivan Vanko seemingly using the Arc Reactor technology.  
Rhodes came to Tony Stark's Mansion intending to berate his friend for his actions but found Stark barely able to stand due to poisoning from his own Arc Reactor.  
Rhodes tried to convince him to allow him to help but Stark ignored him.

 

STARK'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

Later, Tony Stark got drunk at his birthday party because he knew he was dying of palladium poisoning and threw a party as his last moments.  
When Rhodes arrived, he was ushered inside by the nervous Pepper Potts and asked to do something as Stark was now wearing his Iron Man Suit and was putting his party guests at risk by firing his repulsors at random objects, like champagne bottles and a watermelon, thrown in the air.  
Rhodes became outraged as he had been spending the last few hours defending Stark.

Rhodes put on the Mark II armor to stop Stark, who was wearing the Mark IV, and confronted Stark, demanding all the guests to leave and Stark to remove the suit.  
Stark refused and the two close friends began fighting, trashing most of Tony Stark's Mansion in the process.  
Eventually, they fired their repulsors at each other, causing a shockwave which knocked them both back.  
With Stark unable to stand, Rhodes flew away with the suit.

Having won the brawl, Rhodes flew back to Edwards Air Force Base to drop off the Iron Man Armor: Mark II.  
Once he landed he was greeted by Major Allen who seemed amazed by the sight of the armor.  
Rhodes informed his fellow soldiers that he was willing to allow the suit to be used by the military as long as he was the sole pilot of it.  
He then discussed with Allen how they would weaponize it, as it was still at this time a limited prototype.

 

UPGRADES

Justin Hammer was brought in to upgrade the armor and presented his weapons to Rhodes and Major Allen.  
When Hammer asked which weapons they wanted to include on the suit, Rhodey replied that he wanted all of them, including Hammer's personal favorite Ex-Wife Missile.  
The Mark II was upgraded into the "JRXL-1000 Variable Threat Response Battle Suit".  
Rhodes was selected by General Meade as the pilot

 

BATTLE AT STARK EXPO

During Justin Hammer's display of Hammer Drones at the Stark Expo, Rhodey unveiled the new advanced War Machine Armor.  
Stark, however, had learned that Hammer was working with Ivan Vanko.  
Vanko took control of the drones and the War Machine armor, trying to use them to destroy Iron Man, leading to a huge battle at the Expo, Rhodey was still able to communicate with Stark and warn him of incoming attacks.

Agent Natasha Romanoff of S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to give Rhodes control over his armor, and he recovered and spoke to Tony Stark about the next step in their battle plan.  
The pair argued over who was the leader and who wore the more powerful suit, with Stark insisting that Rhodes' suit was overdoing it.  
Their argument was interrupted by the arrival of the Hammer Drones, leading to Rhodes and Stark using their armors to fight back against the drones.  
Although at one point the pair appeared to be overwhelmed by the drones, Stark used a laser to cut them all in half.

Iron Man and War Machine were then faced by Ivan Vanko in an upgraded Whiplash armor.  
Rhodes attempted to use a Hammer missile called the Ex-Wife Missile to destroy Vanko, but it malfunctioned.  
They fought Vanko and were quickly overpowered until they were eventually able to defeat him.  
Vanko ordered the Hammer Drones to self-destruct, causing Stark to go and rescue Pepper Potts before Vanko and the Drones exploded.  
After the fight, Rhodes caught Stark and Potts sharing a kiss and decided to keep the suit despite Stark's protests.

 

HONORED

Stark and Rhodes were then awarded medals for their bravery from a reluctant Senator Stern, who had been ordered to do so by Nick Fury.  
Stern showed great reluctance to be presenting the pair with their awards for bravery and awkwardly smiled for the cameras with the pair.

 

SEARCH FOR THE MANDARIN

After continuing to carry out his duties as the government of United States of America's personal Iron Man, Rhodes' War Machine armor was given a brand new paint job to further please the public.  
Due to the aggressive name of War Machine, the armor was redubbed as the Iron Patriot and painted in the motif of the American flag.  
The job was requisitioned by A.I.M..  
As Iron Patriot, Rhodes continued his battle against terrorism and hunted down the Ten Rings' leader, the Mandarin who had been setting off bombs across America and tormenting the President.

Later Rhodes met with Stark at a bar where they discussed the threat of the Mandarin and what the government was hiding from the public, although Stark suggested getting the Avengers involved, Rhodes insisted that this was not a job for superheroes but for the United States Armed Forces.  
Stark also made several jokes about Rhodes' new code-name compared to his old one of War Machine, but Rhodes argued that Iron Patriot tested better in focus groups.  
At one point two kids ask Stark to sign a hand-drawn picture of him entering a Wormhole which caused Stark to have a panic attack and leave the bar.

While Rhodes was hunting for the Mandarin, Tony Stark was seemingly killed by the terrorist when his mansion was attacked.  
Rhodes continued to hunt for his enemy, following intel given to him by President Matthew Ellis.  
During one raid in Pakistan, Rhodes received a call from Stark, who had survived and was running his own investigation into the Mandarin.  
Stark insisted upon finding Rhodes' passcode so he could hack into the security files and learn more about A.I.M., who he suspected of being connected.  
Stark then mocked Rhodes for having a password referencing War Machine.

 

ALDRICH KILIAN'S WAR

Some time later, Rhodey was sent by President Matthew Ellis to find the Mandarin ASAP but was repeatedly given the wrong location.  
When arriving at a sweatshop in Pakistan, Rhodes was ambushed by an Extremis soldier posing as one of the civilians who shut down Rhodes' suit, trapping him inside.  
Rhodes remained strong, claiming that they would have to drag him out, the Agent told him that was indeed the plan.

Rhodey was then taken to a Mansion where Aldrich Killian's workers attempted to cut Rhodes out of the suit.  
When this failed, Killian used his Extremis powers to remove Rhodes from his suit, slowly boiling it until it opened.  
Rhodes attempted to put up a fight, punching Killian's henchman, Eric Savin, to the ground before giving in when Killian breathed flames at him.  
Savin used his own superior strength to push Rhodes into a wall head first, knocking him out.

 

FINDING THE MANDRAIN

After witnessing Savin take control of the Iron Patriot armor and leave to meet President Ellis, Rhodey escaped and aided Stark in his Mark XLII who was also being held prisoner. Stark then introduced Rhodey to the Mandarin who was actually just a British actor named Trevor Slattery, whom Killian paid to be a decoy while he carried out Extremis experiments.  
They learned that he knew nothing about any real threats and thought it was just an acting role.

Rhodes and Stark took Slattery's speed boat and warned Vice President Rodriguez that Iron Patriot was actually Eric Savin who planned to kidnap President Matthew Ellis.  
The VP did not pass on the message; he was secretly in league with Killian.  
Learning that Savin was attacking Air Force One, Stark used his remote-controlled Mark XLII to fly onto the plane, kill Savin and rescue airborne passengers from death.  
However, Savin had placed President Ellis inside the Iron Patriot suit and sent him to the Norco.

 

BATTLE ON NORCO

Rhodey and Tony Stark then infiltrated the Norco to save both Pepper Potts and President Matthew Ellis, the latter of whom was encased in the Iron Patriot Armor and suspended from a crane, awaiting public live execution.  
Stark summoned his Iron Legion as backup and directed them to attack the Extremis Soldiers.  
As Stark put on a suit, Rhodes excitedly asked him if he would get to wear a new suit but was sadly disappointed that Stark only made the Iron Patriot armor and was escorted by another suit.

While Stark rescued the captured Pepper Potts, Rhodes went after Matthew Ellis.  
Fighting off several Extremis Soldiers, Rhodes managed to secure Ellis and get him away from danger, noting that the President looked good in the Iron Patriot Armor but that he would need it back.  
Rhodes got his armor back and used it to fly himself and the President out of danger while Stark continued to fight Aldrich Killian.

 

AFTERMATH

After Tony Stark and Pepper Potts defeated Aldrich Killian and his Extremis Soldiers, Rhodes further aided his government by outing Vice President Rodriguez as a conspirator with Killian and watched as he was arrested by the FBI inside the White House.  
He also attended Stark's surgery to have his Arc Reactor removed, alongside Potts, giving Stark a thumbs up for support.  
Rhodes later repainted his armor back to its original color scheme and went back to going under the alias of War Machine.

 

ULTRON OFFENSIVE - PARTY AT AVENGERS TOWER

Rhodes was invited to a party at the Avengers Tower alongside the Avengers, Maria Hill and many others to celebrate the Avengers victory over HYDRA and the capture of Wolfgang von Strucker.  
Rhodes told the story of how he had found and delivered an entire tank to a general, but was disappointed when Thor and Tony Stark were unimpressed by the tale.  
Rhodes then asked where Pepper Potts and Jane Foster were but quickly left with Hill when Stark and Thor began arguing over who have the better girlfriend.

Rhodes decided to distance himself from the Avengers and spend his time at the party with other non-powered guests in an attempt to feel better after being mocked by Thor and Stark.  
Rhodes later told the same story about flying the tank to a general's office to a group of beautiful women and was satisfied when they seemed to be impressed by the story and laughed at the punchline.

After most of the guests had departed, Rhodes stayed behind with Stark playing cards with Hill and watched as the Avengers challenged each other to try to lift Thor's hammer Mjølnir.  
After watching Hawkeye fail, Rhodes joined Stark in an unsuccessful attempt, despite using a gauntlet of the War Machine Armor.  
The other Avengers tried, including Captain America and Bruce Banner, but in the end it seemed only Thor was capable of lifting the hammer.

 

ATTACK ON AVENGERS TOWER

They were interrupted when a scrapped robot calling itself Ultron awakened from Stark's laboratory and began talking about saving the world by destroying the Avengers.  
Ultron then attacked the Avengers; Rhodes helped his allies and got thrown out of a window during the fight, but he was able to survive thanks to the bridge on the floored part of the tower.

 

ARGUMENT

Afterwards, the team regrouped and discussed the events, with Tony Stark revealing that he had created Ultron as a means to save the world from an upcoming war that they were doomed to lose.  
Rhodes made his disapproval of the entire situation very clear to his friend before witnessing Thor attack Stark in retaliation for such a foolish act.

 

BATTLE OF SOKOVIA

When Nick Fury called most of the former S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel to assist the Avengers in their war against Ultron, Rhodes went with them, utilizing the War Machine Armor to defend the Helicarrier and assist the team in evacuating the civilians from the elevated Novi Grad.  
When Ultron sent his drones to destroy the evacuation pods containing the civilians, Rhodes engaged them in battle and was able to destroy many of the robots.

As the Avengers joined forces with Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, they were soon able to push back Ultron's army and even came close to destroying Ultron himself.  
He scared the remaining robots in the army so much they attempted to flee, so War Machine was called to stop them.  
Vision flew by War Machine and assisted him in destroying the Ultron Sentries; Rhodes was surprised to receive the help from such an unknown ally.

 

NEW AVENGERS - JOINING THE TEAM

With the Ultron Offensive finished, Rhodes, along with Vision, Wanda Maximoff and Sam Wilson joined the Avengers' roster on a more permanent basis.  
They arrived at the New Avengers Facility and began their training under Captain America and Black Widow.  
He did not however participate in the mission to Lagos, Nigeria along with Vision. 

 

SOKOVIA ACCORDS

In the aftermath of a disastrous mission in Lagos, Nigeria against Crossbones and his small army, the Avengers were held accountable for multiple citizens deaths caused when Scarlet Witch redirected an explosion caused by Crossbones and inadvertently destroyed a building filled with innocent people.  
This resulted in Thaddeus Ross presenting the Sokovia Accords to the Avengers.  
Rhodes agreed to the accords along with Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff and Vision.

 

ARRESTING CAPTAIN AMERICA

When Joint Counter Terrorist Centre located Winter Soldier within Bucharest, Rhodes, in his new armor, was called in.  
Arriving shortly after the police did, War Machine discovered Captain America and the Falcon engaged in a fight with the Winter Soldier and Black Panther.  
War Machine landed with his weapons loaded and aimed at his former Avengers allies, taking them into custody while also being shocked to discover that the Black Panther was in fact King T'Challa of Wakanda.

 

CLASH OF THE AVENEGRS

However before long the Winter Soldier was broke out from the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre, and Captain America and Falcon helped him go into hiding.  
Upon hearing of this escape attempt, Iron Man called in War Machine and other allies in order to stop Rogers and his teammates from escaping.  
While the two armored heroes blocked Rogers' way, Spider-Man appeared and stole Captain America's Shield to disarm him while Stark tried to convince him to surrender now.

Rogers however refused and used Ant-Man to steal back the shield and make their escape, with Hawkeye and the Scarlet Witch acting as backup.  
A battle broke out between Iron Man's team and Captain America's team in Flughafen Leipzig-Halle airport, and while Ant-Man fought Black Widow, War Machine armed himself with an electrified baton and prepared to fight against Captain America, also with the assistance of Black Panther, who was on his own mission to kill the Winter Soldier for seemingly killing T'Chaka during the Bombing of the Vienna International Centre.  
During the fight, Captain America knocked War Machine out of the sky, destroying his baton.

As the fight continued, War Machine regrouped with Black Panther and Black Widow and faced off against Captain America and Ant-Man, who used one of the Pym Particles Disks to force an entire truck at the group.  
Although the others managed to dodge out of the way, War Machine was hit with the full force of the exploding truck, although his War Machine Armor protected him despite it greatly angering him regardless.

War Machine joined his allies and once the Vision had blocked their path, stood in defiance against Captain America and his allies, all of whom were against the Sokovia Accords. Rogers however did not back down and instead charged into battle, with War Machine joining Iron Man and the rest of their team in moving forward and engaging in a fierce battle against their former allies, with War Machine chasing Falcon across the battlefield.

Chasing Falcon through the air, War Machine came close to catching up with the former Avenger, until to his surprise, Ant-Man used his Suit to transform himself into Giant-Man, grabbing War Machine out of the air as everybody looked on in amazement.  
War Machine was then thrown across the battlefield before he was caught by Spider-Man who managed to fling him back into the battle before he could crash headfirst into a nearby parked airplane.

War Machine joined forces with Spider-Man and Iron Man in their attempts to stop Giant-Man's rampage as he caused chaos across the battlefield, with War Machine unleashing all of his non-lethal weapons, including the Stark Sonic Cannon, to try and slow him down.  
Eventually Spider-Man had an idea to beat Giant-Man, taking inspiration from The Empire Strikes Back and tied up Giant Man's legs before War Machine and Iron Man before hit him in the jaw and caused him to fall down and crash land hard on the ground.

While they were distracted however, Captain America and the Winter Soldier were attempting to make their way to the Quinjet and escape.  
Although the Vision had used the Mind Stone to knock down a tower and block their path, Scarlet Witch used her own power to hold it up and assist in their escape attempt. Seeking to stop Rogers' plans, War Machine unleashed the Sonic Cannon on Scarlet Witch, causing her great agony and then forcing her to drop the tower.

Despite their best efforts to stop them however, Captain America and the Winter Soldier managed to escape with the stolen Quinjet, having also gained some assistance from Black Widow who had decided to briefly change sides and had blocked Black Panther's attacks.  
War Machine and Iron Man flew after them, however Falcon also flew to them to stop them, firing his rockets at the armored heroes in an attempt to slow them down and allow Rogers and Barnes to escape without challenge so they could continue their mission.

War Machine called on the Vision to neutralize Falcon, but Vision had become distracted by assisting Scarlet Witch and his energy blast missed Falcon, instead striking War Machine, exactly at his Arc Reactor, causing his entire suit to lose power.  
War Machine fell hundreds of feet and despite the best efforts of Falcon and Iron Man to save him, crash landed hard on the ground below, paralyzed and unconscious, with F.R.I.D.A.Y. calling for medical assistance.

 

RECOVERY

Rhodes was paralyzed in his legs because of the crash.  
Tony Stark built him a new Stark Industries device that could help him walk again, but Rhodes had problems to adapt to it.  
Rhodes told him that he had done 138 combat missions because he thought it was the right thing to do, same as the Sokovia Accords.  
They were interrupted by the arrival of a delivery man who mistakenly misread Stark's name as "Tony Stank", much to Rhodes' amusement, who claimed he would never forget the nickname.

 

INFINITY WAR - RECRUITING THE AVENGERS

Two years later, Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross contacted Rhodes at the Avengers Facility to discuss the disappearances of Tony Stark and Vision.  
Stark was missing after the Attack on Greenwich Village, while Vision was last seen being attacked in Edinburgh and leaving in the company of Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Sam Wilson, and Wanda Maximoff.  
During the meeting, Rogers and his team arrived at the compound, prompting Ross to order Rhodes to arrest them.  
Rhodes disconnected the call and greeted his comrades, noting that his failure to arrest them probably meant he was being court-martialled.

Since Thanos wanted the Mind Stone from Vision, the Avengers headed to Wakanda where they hoped to remove the Stone safely and keep Vision alive.  
Upon arrival in Wakanda, Bruce Banner asked Rhodes if he should bow in front of King T'Challa.  
Rhodes told him that he should.  
When Banner actually bowed and T'Challa told him not to, Rhodes broke out in a grin having tricked his friend.

 

BATTLE OF WAKANDA

During the Battle of Wakanda, Rhodes stood with the Avengers and the Wakandan military against Thanos' army of the Outriders.  
During the battle, War Machine provided much needed air support to ground troops, using his War Machine armor to launch bombing runs and to lay down covering fire.  
Once Thanos arrived on the battlefield to obtain the Mind Stone, War Machine attempted to stop him, unleashing the full power of his armor's weaponry against the Mad Titan but was completely outmatched by Thanos's skill with the powers of the nearly completed Infinity Gauntlet, with Thanos using the Space Stone to crush War Machine's armor around him then threw him aside.

Once Thanos obtained all six Infinity Stones, he snapped his fingers and killed half of the people in the universe.  
Rhodes called out to Sam Wilson as the latter disintegrated into dust, hidden in the long grass.  
He continued to call out for Wilson after he disappeared.  
Still shocked by death of his allies, Rhodes was just able to ask what happened before realizing what had happened and briefly bowed and shaked his head out of disbelief and despair before beginning to silently lament the lost.

 

PERSONALITY

James Rhodes is a proud and highly distinguished officer of the United States Armed Forces.  
Though he is supportive of his best friend Tony Stark and generally enjoys being involved in his revelries, he is sometimes annoyed by Stark's flippant and reckless behavior. Tony's disrespect of government officials and refusal to relinquish his Iron Man suits to them often puts Rhodes in a difficult position since he has to balance his responsibilities to his superiors and respect his friendship with Tony.  
As liaison to Stark Industries, Rhodes strives to maintain a copacetic relationship between Tony and the U.S. government.

As a military man, he is a firm believer in people being held accountable for their actions and a proper chain of command.  
This made signing the Sokovia Accords an easy decision for him as it would make the Avengers accountable for their actions and a show of good faith for the public.  
He was also pleased to see Tony believe the same thing. As a result of this, he has a dislike of those who believe their actions to be "right" and would flout the law to accomplish them, shown when he confronted Captain America's faction during the Clash of the Avengers.  
However as time progressed Rhodes became increasingly frustrated with the restrictions imposed on the Avengers, as well as Thaddeus Ross and the UN labeling his friends criminals so much so that he chose to be court martial-led when Ross demanded Rogers team arrest.

For the most part, Rhodes maintains a sense of professionalism and strives to do whatever he feels is the right thing for the people.  
This often causes tension between him and Stark, though the two nonetheless maintain a strong mutual respect and friendship.  
Rhodes also takes great personal pride in his work; when attending the party following the retrieval of the Chitauri scepter, he enjoys getting laughs from recounting stories of his work as War Machine, and his ego is somewhat deflated when he doesn't get the reaction he's looking for from Stark and Thor.  
Despite becoming partially paralysed as a result of siding with Stark against Captain America over the Sokovia Accords, he freely admits having no regrets, as he believes it was the right thing to do.  
This would in time change, as he later openly admitted his disappointment and frustration the Accords had ultimately done more harm than good by fragmenting the Avengers, forcing many of them to live in hiding in a time they were needed.

Despite his sense of professionalism, however, he enjoys wearing the War Machine suit as he believes it makes him a badass, and is largely disappointed when it underperforms, such as when the Ex-Wife Missile installed in his suit doesn't deliver when fighting Whiplash.  
Though he states that being rebranded as Iron Patriot comes across well as it's less aggressive, he secretly prefers being referred to as War Machine, and quickly goes back to this persona following the end of the latest crisis.  
However, he is often left in awe when faced with more extreme super-powered individuals; the sight of Aldrich Killian breathing fire alone was enough to make him immediately surrender despite actually winning against his men, and when preventing several Ultron Sentries from fleeing was left wondering what he had just witnessed when Vision did his job for him.

 

POWERS AND ABILITIES

Like Tony, Rhodes has no known superhuman powers.  
He is a military man who is in excellent physical condition.  
However, like Stark, Rhodes' power comes from using a modified Iron Man armor to become War Machine.  
The armor allows him to fly, possess superhuman strength and durability and contains various weapons for battle.  
Rhodes' War Machine armors are more devised for military oriented purposes; therefore they are more heavily armored and weaponized than Stark's Iron Man armors.

The War Machine armors are the only other powerful suits next to the Iron Man armors.  
Before weaponization of the Mark II Iron Man armor, it was sufficient enough to battle a more updated, and powerful generation armor (the Mark IV).  
When the Mark II Iron Man Armor was transformed into the War Machine Mark I armor, it was sufficient enough to nearly overpower the Mark VI (while under Vanko's control), battle hordes of Hammer Drones and Vanko himself with his own armor.

SUPPORT POWERS

-flight  
-Superhuman Strength  
-Superhuman Reflexes  
-Armor Systems  
-Self-Contained Life-Support System and Environmental Protection

DEFENSIVE POWERS

-Durability

OFFENSIVE POWERS

-Repulsors  
-Unibeam  
-Mini-gun  
-Gauntlets  
-Rocket Launcher  
-Miniature Stark Sonic Cannon  
-Stun Staff

 

ABILITIES

-Expert Pilot  
-Expert Tactician  
-Expert Martial Artist  
-Expert Marksman

 

EQUIPMENT

-War Machine Armor: Mark I  
-War Machine Armor: Mark II (temporarily Iron Patriot Armor)  
-War Machine Armor: Mark III  
-War Machine Armor: Mark IV

 

WEAPONS

-Beretta 92FS Inox  
-Walther P99

 

TRIVIA

-In the comics, James Rhodes is a 1st Lieutenant in the Marine Corps, which alludes to the name “War Machine”.  
-War Machine's legs and spine being damaged are a nod to the comics where James Rhodes suffers injures and is rebuilt as a cyborg, though his brain was later transplanted into a healthy cloned body.  
-In Iron Man 3, Rhodey is known as the Iron Patriot. In the comics, it was in fact Norman Osborn the first to adopt the identity of Iron Patriot. After the release of Iron Man 3, for a time, the mainstream counterpart of Rhodey has also taken the mantle of Iron Patriot in the comics, before later going back to the War Machine armor. The Iron Patriot identity was picked up by Toni Ho, daughter of Yinsen, who is supposidely dead in the films.  
-As War Machine, James Rhodes became the first African American superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

 

BEHIND THE SCENES

-In an unused draft of Iron Man, Howard Stark featured as still alive, a ruthless businessman and the main villain, who adopted the identity of "War Machine".  
-A War Machine movie was nearly green lighted at Marvel Studios, with Joe Robert Cole as a writer, but the plan was changed after Iron Man 3.[13]  
-Some of Spider-Man: Homecoming concept arts featured War Machine and Vision taking part at the rescue of the Staten Island Ferry alongside Iron Man, a concept that did not make it to the final version of the movie.


	6. Iron Monger (Obadiah Stane)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -This is the main villian in the first Iron Man  
> -irrelevent but spoilers if you havent seen the first iron man movie

IRON MONGER

Obadiah Stane was the business partner of Tony Stark and a good friend of his father, Howard Stark.  
After Howard Stark's death, Stane became interim CEO of Stark Industries until Tony Stark took over officially shortly after.  
Stane's jealousy of the younger Stark led him to join forces with the Ten Rings to organize a failed attempt to assassinate him so Stane could become CEO once again.  
When this failed Stane created the Iron Monger Armor and attempted to kill Stark himself, leading to his own death.

 

EARLY LIFE - WORK WITH HOWARD STARK

Obadiah Stane was a businessman who worked in partnership with Howard Stark during the early years of Stark Industries inception, assisting him and Anton Vanko in the designs of the Arc Reactor technology and many other inventions.  
Stane took over as interim CEO of the company after Stark's untimely death in a car accident.  
Stane's brief tenure as CEO made him highly egotistical as he took great pride in his work and the respect it gained him.

Shortly after, Stane was forced to step down from his position to become the firm's second-in-command when Tony Stark officially took over as CEO.

After several years as second-in-command, Stane grew tired and jealous of Tony.  
Stane began cooperating with the Ten Rings terrorists in Afghanistan, selling them Stark Industries weapons illegally.  
Eventually, Stane contracted them to kill Tony by attacking his convoy, so that he could resume control over Stark Industries, but he didn't tell them who their target was.

 

KIDNAPPING OF TONY STARK - HIRING THE TEN RINGS

Stane presented himself as a close and loyal friend to Tony Stark.  
When Stark failed to show up in Las Vegas to accept his award in Caesars Palace, Stane took his place, collecting the award from James Rhodes and giving an affectionate tribute to him, claiming that the reason Stark was not in attendance there would be that he was working, despite being fully aware that Stark would most likely be gambling in a casino with a beautiful woman.  
The next day Stark flew to Afghanistan to debut Stark Industries' new Jericho missile to the army.

Stane called Stark to check how the presentation went; soon after they spoke, the Ten Rings attacked and failed to kill Stark, and they instead kidnapped him.  
Realizing who their target was, Raza felt they had not been paid enough, and decided that Stane would have to pay greater for them to finish the job.  
The Ten Rings kept Stark alive to use to their own advantage by having him build them the Jericho.  
Instead Stark used his time to build a weaponised armor and escaped by fighting back against his captors, being quickly found by the military.

 

STARK'S RETURN

With Tony Stark having been rescued and returned home, Stane met with Stark and Pepper Potts outside of Stark Industries where he had organized a press event for Stark to talk about his experiences.  
Stane greeted Stark, keeping silent about his involvement in the incident and noting how Stark had made Happy Hogan get a burger before arriving.

Still clearly traumatized by what he had witnessed, Stark began by asking everybody to sit on the floor before noting how he had never had the chance to say a final goodbye to Howard Stark before his death.  
As Stane listened, Stark explained how he wished he had gotten the chance to ask his father how he truly felt about what his company did, noting how his kidnapping had opened his eyes to his own legacy of creating nothing but weapons.

While Stane listened closely, Stark informed the attendees that due to seeing young men in the United States Armed Forces killed by the Ten Rings using his own weapons which he had made to protect the soldiers, he had decided to immediately shut down Stark Industries' weapons division.  
Stane jumped in and moved Stark away from the podium and attempted to convince the audience that there was nothing to be concerned about, noting that they should be glad that Stark was back before attempting to move on and create his own narrative.

 

MANIPULATING TONY STARK

Stane went to met with Tony Stark inside Stark Industries; arriving on a segway, Stane found Happy Hogan outside who pointed him in the direction of Stark, who was studying the prototype large-scale Arc Reactor.  
They discussed how Stane was now forced to go to meetings with Stark Industries' investors to negotiate how their company would continue without it's main weapons division, with Stane arguing that making weapons was just what they did.

Despite Stane arguing that their work kept the world from falling into chaos and his continued efforts to try and convince Stark to change his mind on the matter but Stark remained convicted to his decision.  
When Stark suggested that they focus on Arc-Reactor technology, Stane claimed that he and Howard Stark had created it as a publicity stunt, although Stark insisted that it did work.  
Having made it clear that James Rhodes had updated him on the technology he had used to escape, Stane insisted upon inspecting Stark's miniaturized Arc Reactor in his chest.  
As Stark showed Stane the technology, proving it did work, Stane agreed to help Stark in his plans, suggesting that they work together from this point onwards.

During meetings with their investors based in New York City, Stane recommended to the board of directors that Stark be removed from his position within the company.  
He met with Stark and Pepper Potts at Tony Stark's Mansion where he gave out pizza and played the piano while he waited for Stark to join them.  
When he finally arrived, Stane told Stark that it was the board's decision to push him out, which Stark refused to accept as the consequence of his being responsible.

In an attempt to learn more about Stark's newest technology, Stane once again attempted to gain access to either his Arc Reactor or whatever designs he was working on in his basement, claiming that he needed some new technology that he could then pitch to their investors to calm them down but Stark still continued to refuse him.  
Annoyed, Stane refused to let Stark take the pizza downstairs with him, although he let Stark take a couple of slices.

 

CONFESSING THE TRUTH

Stane arranged a party for Stark Industries but did not invite Tony Stark himself.  
While Stane was giving interviews to the press where he tried to assure them that weapons manufacturing was only a small part of their companies' work, Stark arrived anyway. Greeting Stark, Stane recommended that he take this slow so he did not upset the board of directors, which Stark promised he would though Stane was unconvinced.

Having spoken with Christine Everhart, Stark furiously confronted Stane about whether or not Stane had been secretly selling their own weapons to the Ten Rings, who had just recently attacked a village named Gulmira with Stark's weapons including the Jericho.  
Seeing no other alternative, Stane revealed to Stark that he was the one who had cut him from the company, claiming it was the only way he could protect him before Stane walked away from the party.

Obadiah Stane soon did learn what Stark had been working on when he watched a news report where James Rhodes explained that there had been an incident in Gulmira where several Ten Rings terrorists had been killed and a fighter jet had been damaged.  
Stane knew immediately that this was the result of Stark having built a new and improved Iron Man Armor based on the original design he had used to escape his captors while trapped in Afghanistan.

 

CREATING IRON MONGER -KILLING THE TEN RINGS

Due to the Ten Rings finding all the remnants of the prototype armor which Tony Stark had used to escape, they attempted to make a new deal with Stane to hand over the prototype to him in exchange for creating an army of similarly armored soldiers for the group to use.  
Stane met with Raza, commenting on his facial scars caused by Stark's escape.

Stane told Raza that if they had killed him like he was supposed to rather than kidnapping Stark, he would not have his scars.  
Asking Stane to leave his bodyguards outside, Raza invited Stane inside to examine the Iron Man armor and designs they had collected.  
Raza explained his desire to work with Stane and gain an army of Iron Man armors so the Ten Rings could take over all of Asia, noting that he viewed the suit as the pinnacle of weapons technology.

Ultimately, Stane betrayed the group, using a Sonic Taser to paralyze Raza and mocked his efforts to try and intimidate Stane.  
While he apologized to Raza for the unpleasant feeling the Taser was giving him, he promised that it would only last fifteen minutes, although he made it clear that this would be the least of his problems.  
Stane then had Raza and the rest of the Ten Rings terrorists executed because of their failure to assassinate Stark as he wanted.

With Raza and his Ten Rings soldiers now dead, Stane took the Mark I Armor for himself.  
On his way back to the United States of America, Stane contacted his allies at Stark Industries and ordered them to set up a workshop underneath the Arc Reactor and recruit their top scientists, including William Ginter Riva to begin attempting to recreate the technology, demanding that they complete a working prototype of the Iron Monger as quickly as was possible.

 

PLANS DISCOVERED

While working to develop his own armored suit, Stane learned that despite having his best scientists, working with all of best resources that Stark Industries could provide them with, they were still unable to find some way they could recreate the miniaturized Arc Reactor technology that Tony Stark used to power his first armor.  
However they were able to continue work on the armor, building an enlarged version of the original, just without a way to power it.

Stane later went to his office and discovered that Stark's personal assistant Pepper Potts was using his computer.  
Unsure if she had indeed discovered his designs for the Iron Monger Armor, Stane had a casual conversation with her about the whisky that Stark kept in the office, commenting that Stark always got the best quality whisky before claiming that he understood what Potts had been going through in an attempt to relax her and not scare her.

Having had a brief glance at the computer, Stane saw that there was nothing noteworthy on the screen and briefly relaxed, hoping that he would not have to kill Potts.  
They then moved on and discussed Stark's return from Afghanistan and how much he had changed, with Stane claiming that he had been incredibly happy when Stark had returned from his kidnapping, noting that the man who had left had never come home as Stark had clearly left part of himself in the cave with the Ten Rings.  
Potts however claimed Stark was a complicated man but he would be alright in the end, leading to Stane claiming that Potts was a very rare and special kind of woman.

When Potts left, Stane took her newspaper from her, claiming that he wanted to do the puzzles, before he checked his own computer and discovered that Potts had indeed found out about all his plans by hacking onto his computer and downloading all his files, including his designs for the Iron Monger and the videos Raza had sent him.  
He watched as Potts left the building along with S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson, intending to tell him everything about Stane.

Stane then went to check on the scientists building the Iron Monger armor and demanded an update, being told that the technology to shrink the Arc Reactor simply did not exist. This threw Stane into a rage and he screamed at his workers, demanding that they do the work that Stark was able to do in a cave with nothing but a box of scraps; however, Stane's top scientist, William Ginter Riva, simply explained that he did not have the same skills as Stark.

Knowing he would soon be arrested, he used a Sonic Taser to paralyze Stark and ripped Stark's Arc Reactor from his chest, intending to use it to power his new suit.  
Stane went on to tell him that he indeed ordered the hit on him and he planned to kill Potts as well, claiming her death would be Stark's fault as he got her involved in the first place.  
Stane then left Stark to die from a heart attack and went to complete his work on his new armor.

 

DUEL OF LOS ANGELES

Believing that Tony Stark would soon be dead due to having a heart attack, Stane returned to Stark Industries Headquarters.  
While Stane installed the Arc Reactor into his completed Iron Monger Armor, he was interrupted when he overheard Pepper Potts and a small group of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents arrived at the Stark Industries Headquarters facility to arrest Stane for all of his crimes which Potts had uncovered by hacking into his computer, including working with the Ten Rings and organising the Kidnapping of Tony Stark.  
Stane however focused on completing his work on his Armor so he was ready to face all of the agents.

Hearing them blow up the door with a Pick-Lock Device, Stane then powered up the Iron Monger and got inside the armor, ready for his final stand.  
While Phil Coulson and the other agents searched the workshop and eventually found the Mark I Armor, Stane's hiding place was soon discovered by Potts.  
When he was discovered, Iron Monger attacked and killed several of the Agents before furiously chasing after Potts who barely escaped from him in time.

Determined to stop Potts from revealing his deals with Raza and the Ten Rings, Iron Monger then punched his way through the roof of the facility and found Potts attempting to call on Tony Stark for help.  
As Potts looked on in horror and became cornered, Iron Monger loaded his gun and then aimed it at her, telling her that her services were no longer required.  
Just as Iron Monger was about to kill Pepper with the Iron Monger's advanced weapons however, he discovered that Stark was alive and had come to save her in the new Mark III armor.  
Before Iron Monger could shoot him out of the sky, Iron Man flew down and crashed straight into his former friend.

Iron Man threw Iron Monger into the nearby motorway and they then engaged in a brutal fight to the death.  
Seeking to take advantage of Iron Man's want to help people, Iron Monger cruelly picked up a car filled with innocent people, with the intention of throwing it at him.  
As the women and children inside the car screamed in terror, Iron Man fired a beam of energy directly from his own Arc Reactor at Iron Monger, knocking him away before Iron Man caught the car and placed it safely back on the ground, despite the screaming family driving into him in their attempt to escape the battle quickly.

While Iron Man was distracted by saving all the people, Iron Monger grabbed a passing motorbike, causing the rider to crash, and used the bike to strike Iron Man before he threw him inside a nearby bus.  
Iron Monger began ranting about how he had spent years building up Stark Industries ever since the death of Howard Stark and he refused to let Stark stop him now.  
Iron Monger then fired at the bus with his rocket, causing a massive explosion with Iron Man inside.

However Iron Man survived the blast and hovered in the air, however while Iron Monger complimented Iron Man on all the upgrades, he proceeded to show off his own suit's new advanced capabilities by demonstrating it's flying abilities.  
As Iron Man tried to fly away Iron Monger gave chase, flying higher and higher into the sky over Los Angeles while Iron Man instructed J.A.R.V.I.S. to help him get even higher with Iron Monger getting ever closer behind him.

Eventually the Iron Monger caught up with Iron Man and then Iron Monger used all of his suit's strength to crush the armor, mocking Iron Man as he did, however when Stark mentioned if Stane had fixed the icing problems of the suit, which he had discovered while testing the Mark II.  
To his horror, Iron Monger suddenly realized that the extreme altitude had frozen the suit, causing it to malfunction and fall from the sky to the city thousands of feet below.

 

DEFEAT AND DEATH

Surviving the fall, Iron Monger found Iron Man attempting to remove his Mark III armor as it's power began to run low.  
Iron Monger then attacked Iron Man, who was unable to defend himself as he had already taken off one of his gauntlets, allowing Iron Monger to strike him hard and send him flying back.  
Iron Monger proceeded to grab ahold of Iron Man and used the Iron Monger Armor's incredible strength to crush Iron Man, who used his flares to briefly blind Stane inside the suit while Iron Man just managed to get away.

Iron Monger then searched across the rooftop of the Stark Industries Headquarters to find his target, until Iron Man then surprised him and jumped on his back, attacking Iron Monger and managing to damage his targeting system by ripping out all the wires.  
Iron Monger then eventually furiously ripped Iron Man off his back, taking off his mask at the same time as the badly injured Tony Stark attempted to get to his feet, despite being too exhausted to continue the fight.

Iron Monger was still able to trap Stark on a glass roof and shoot the glass from beneath him.  
Removing his own protective helmet, Stane crushed the Iron Man helmet and began mocking Stark by telling him that he had finally made his father, Howard Stark proud while also noting his attempts to end Stark Industries weapons manufacturing had resulted in him creating the best weapon ever, promising that he would now use that very weapon to finally kill Stark.

Iron Monger then began firing rockets at his enemy with poor aim due to the damage the suit had obtained, with Stark trapped as he held onto the platform for dear life.  
In a desperate attempt to kill Stane, Stark then ordered Pepper Potts overload the prototype large-scale Arc Reactor located at the complex underneath them.  
As a result, the reactor electrocuted Stane to death.  
His body proceeded to fall into the reactor, resulting in a massive explosion.

 

LEGACY - COVER STORY

In the wake of the highly public Duel of Los Angeles and the subsequent death of Obadiah Stane, Phil Coulson, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., who was working with Tony Stark, came up with a cover story about the event, in which Stane's death was explained by claiming that Stane had disappeared in a private plane while on vacation.

 

PERSONALITY

Publically, Obadiah Stane appears as a loyal and devoted friend to the Starks; his business partner Howard, whom he helped build Stark Industries from the ground up with and his son, Tony whom Stane is seemingly affectionate towards.  
In reality, he deeply enjoyed the authority and respect that came with being CEO and has an extremely negative opinion of Tony, viewing him as a reckless and self-obsessed party boy who was less deserving of his company and image in comparison to Stane who actually lay the groundwork to Stark Industries and built it from nothing upwards.  
This resentment and bitterness eventually caused him to place a hit on Stark using the terrorist organisation, the Ten Rings.  
More than once, Stane proudly calls himself as a weapons manufacturer and "iron monger" and shows that the only value he is concerned about is the one that would result in profit, which he uses to convince the board of Stark Industries to remove Tony from power after he effectively shuts down the weapons division of Stark Industries culminating in a highly significant drop in the stock market.  
Because of this Stane was somewhat of an anti-environmentalist as, although he made an Arc Reactor project which was a clean power source, he claims it was only a publicity stunt to appease the protesters against Stark Industries and that it would be too costly to continue the project further.  
Stane was highly arrogant and he treated most people who worked with or under him poorly.  
Raza states that he payed the Ten Rings "trinkets to kill [Tony Stark]" after proceeding to massacre him and the rest of his group for his failure and to steal the Iron Man Armor Mark I.  
Similarly, he reacted with rage that one of his lead doctors was unable to miniaturize the Arc Reactor, claiming that Tony Stark was able to with even less resources - which is also a display of Stane's deep inferiority towards Stark.

After utilising the Iron Monger Armor, Stane quickly goes on a rampage and destroys everything that comes in his path during his fight against Iron Man.  
Throughout their fight, he constantly states how much he is enjoying the suit and sadisitcally causing havoc and recklessly ignoring human life or casualties, claiming that it was only "collateral damage".

 

POWERS AND ABILITIES  
POWERS

Stane had no superhuman abilities, instead using a powered suit of armor like Tony Stark's.  
The Iron Monger Armor was reverse-engineered from the Mark I Armor and had many of the same capabilities as the Mark III Armor.

 

SUPPORT POWERS

-Superhuman Strength  
-Flight  
-HUD Interface

 

DEFENSIVE POWERS

\- Superhuman Durability

 

ABILITIES

-Expert Businessman  
-Expert Engineer

 

EQUIPMENT

Obadiah Stane possessed the Iron Monger Armor which derives from the Mark I armor he recovered from the Ten Rings. It has powerful conventional weapons at his disposal including

-minigu  
-rocket launcher  
-Shoulder-Armed Missile  
-sonic taser

 

TRIVIA

-In the comics, Obadiah Stane was the head of his own company and not a part of Stark Industries, and also the first colleague of Norman Osborn, the first Green Goblin  
-Originally, the Mandarin was the villain of Iron Man with Stane planned as the sequel's antagonist.  
-Stane is seen playing chess, which is a reference to his comic book alter ego leading a super villain team known as the Chessmen.


	7. Pepper Potts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -SPOILERS for infinity war

PEPPER POTTS

Virginia "Pepper" Potts is the Chief Executive Officer of Stark Industries.   
Originally working as Tony Stark's personal assistant, she would take care of his schedule and perform any task he wished.   
During this time, she became good friends with Stark; however, both she and Stark had begun developing romantic feelings for each other.   
Neither was able to act on these feelings, as they each feared that the other would not accept them.

When Stark returned from captivity in Afghanistan, she was trusted enough by him to see his Iron Man suits and his workshop.   
She helped Stark defeat Obadiah Stane, who tried to kill Stark, by overloading the Arc Reactor, killing Stane.   
After Stane's death, Stark made Potts his new business partner, taking Stane's place.

Believing his death was imminent, Stark stepped down as CEO and appointed her as his replacement.   
After Stark defeated Whiplash at the Stark Expo, both Potts and Stark finally admitted their attraction to each other and began a romantic relationship.

During the crisis surrounding the Mandarin's terrorist attacks, Potts was kidnapped by Aldrich Killian and injected with Extremis.   
She was freed by Stark during the Battle on the Norco, and went on to kill Killian herself.   
Stark cured her of the effects of Extremis, who temporarily gave up being Iron Man just for her.

As the War on HYDRA began, the Avengers needed to be remobilized.   
Without S.H.I.E.L.D. active to run the team, Stark took over, allowing Captain America to retain field and team leadership while he designed everything else, including creating new armors and rejoining the team himself as an active duty combatant.   
Sometime after the Ultron Offensive, he and Potts broke off their relationship, which affected Stark and left him wondering why he could not make it work while his father could. However, shortly after the Avengers Civil War ended, Stark and Potts resumed their relationship with Stark having planned to propose to her in the New Avengers Facility in front of reporters, though Stark originally intended to introduce Peter Parker as the newest member of the Avengers until he refused.

 

BIOGRAPHY - EARLY LIFE

Virginia Potts' early jobs involved her working alongside Aldrich Killian, though she did not enjoy the experience as Killian would continually flirt with her.  
Potts was then hired by Stark Industries, eventually becoming Tony Stark's personal assistant.   
Unfortunately, this usually required her to send Stark's one-night stands home the next morning.   
Much to her annoyance, he also forgot when her birthday was; Potts' got back at him by using his money to buy herself a gift.

 

WORKING FOR STARK INDUSTRIES

Potts, along with Stark and his best friend James Rhodes, visited the Yuma Proving Ground to test a new Stark Industries weapon.   
After the test was finished, Potts gave the weapon's specifics to the officials of the US Military that watched the test.

 

KIDNAPPING OF TONY STARK

On her birthday, Potts found Stark had forgotten again.   
Annoyed, she used his money to buy herself a backless dress for parties.

Once Stark woke up that day, he asked her to have Christine Everhart's clothes dry cleaned while he went to work on his cars in the basement.   
Once Christine woke up, Potts greeted her with her clothes, informing her that a car will be waiting to take her where she needs to go.   
Everhart attempted to mock Potts by commenting on how Stark still had her collecting clothes for him.   
Potts ignored the taunts and escorting her out of Tony Stark's Mansion with a smile, subtly referring to her as the trash that needs to be taken out.

She then prepared Tony Stark for his imminent trip to Afghanistan.   
They discussed several pieces of business before he left, with Stark wishing to take his time as he believed that his private jet should wait for him to arrive.   
Potts subtly mentioned that it was her birthday, which Stark had clearly forgotten; she made it clear that she had used his money to buy a birthday present for herself.   
Stark then finished his drink and left for Afghanistan to debut Stark Industries' new Jericho Missile.   
There, Stark was kidnapped by the Ten Rings.   
During his absence, Potts was worried about his safety.

 

STARK'S RETURN

When he returned from Afghanistan after his capture and escape. Potts, along with Happy Hogan greeted him at the plane's landing site.   
She expressed her gratitude that he returned and not having left her looking for a new job by shedding a slight tear.   
Once in the limo, Potts insisted Stark see a doctor.   
However, Stark refused the idea, telling her that there are two things he wanted to do after spending three months in captivity.   
The first was getting a burger, and second was for her to call a press conference.   
Potts accompanied Tony Stark to get burgers from Burger King and to a press conference where they were greeted by Obadiah Stane and James Rhodes.

At the conference she was approached by Agent Phil Coulson of the Strategic Homeland Investigative and Enforcement Logistics Division for an interview with Stark to debrief his escape from the Ten Rings.   
Pepper promised to pencil Agent Coulson in for a meeting later in the month, also advising him to try having the name of his organization shortened as it's too long to remember.

Still clearly shaken from his experiences, Stark asked everyone in attendance to sit on the floor as he spoke about his relationship with his father Howard Stark and what he had witnessed during his time as a hostage.   
Stark then announced that due to what he had seen Terrorists do with his weapons, he would ensure that Stark Industries would no longer produce weapons, much to Potts and everyone in attendances' horror.  
Stane had Stark taken away, trying to pass the statement off as a due to trauma.

 

HELPING STARK

Watching the numerous reactions to Tony's statement about changing Stark Industries's products, Potts was called by Stark to his workshop.   
To her shock, he needed help replacing his Mark I Arc Reactor with a better model.   
She helped him remove it, much to her disgust, telling him to never ask her to do that again.   
In a rare moment of Tony's ego being in check, he told Pepper that he only has her.   
Asking what to do with the old reactor, Pepper was told to destroy it.

Instead of destroying the reactor, Pepper had it in a glass frame and engraved it with the epitaph: "Proof that Tony Stark has a heart".   
Potts visited Stark at his workshop to bring him a cappuccino and a bagel, leaving the framed reactor as a gift.   
This was enough to make Stark smile.

When Potts came downstairs into Stark's warehouse a few days later, she found Stark working on a strange arm-mounted cannon.   
When Potts questioned why Stark was going back to making weapons, he assured her that it was not a weapon but a harmless flight stabilizer.   
However when he fired the device, the shockwave proved too powerful and sent him flying back, causing Potts to scream in shock at her boss' mistake.

Potts joined Obadiah Stane in Tony Stark's Mansion to discuss the meetings Stane had been having with Stark Industries' board of directors.   
Stane revealed that the board had voted to push Stark out of the company, citing that he was suffering from post traumatic stress.   
Stark refused to accept this and left the meeting, taking a slice of pizza with him as he went to continue his mysterious new project.

 

DANCING WITH THE BOSS

At Stark's annual charity ball, Potts wore her "birthday present" and was asked to dance by Stark.   
Both felt nervous about talking about their feelings for each other and went to get some air where they nearly kissed before Potts asked for a martini.   
Stark left to get the drink but then exited the party after Christine Everhart provided him with pictures and information of the Ten Rings, outfitted with Stark Industries weapons, leaving Potts.

 

LEARNING THE TRUTH

Potts went down into Tony Stark's warehouse, and discovered her boss wearing a red and gold armor, which J.A.R.V.I.S. was attempting to remove.   
When Potts questioned him about it, Stark shook off the question, noting that this was not the worse thing Potts had ever caught him doing.   
Looking at the suit more closely, Potts saw that it was covered in bullet holes.   
Stark went on to explain that he was building a weaponised armor to fight the Ten Rings.

Once Tony Stark was out of the armor, Potts spoke to him about what he was doing, telling him that if he continued his war with the Ten Rings he would end up being killed, when Stark insisted that it was what he had to do after decades of earning his money from creating weapons of mass destruction and he would not stop, Potts told him that she would quit.   
Stark continued to defend himself, claiming that he knew in his heart that what he was doing was right, Potts reluctantly accepted this and agreed to help him.

 

INVESTIGATING THE TRAITOR

Stark revealed that he believed Obadiah Stane was responsible for selling Stark Industries' weapons to the Ten Rings and organised his kidnapping.   
Potts agreed to go to Stane's office and learn more.   
Arriving at his office, Potts logged into the computer and began searching through the files, discovering plans for a large scale Iron Man Suit and a video of the Ten Rings Terrorists discussing their deal to assassinate Tony Stark for Stane.

Potts began to download the files from the computer, but was interrupted by the arrival of Obadiah Stane, who seemed to be unsure of what he had found her doing.   
While Stane poured himself a drink of whiskey and spoke about his reaction to Tony Stark's return home, Potts hid the memory stick and changed the computer to screensaver. She continued to act innocently as Stane commented on how much Stark had changed since his return.   
Potts then made her excuses and left the office, taking the memory stick with her.   
She then found Agent Phil Coulson waiting for their meeting and called him over, updating him on what she had discovered.

 

DUEL OF LOS ANGELES

Alongside Agent Phil Coulson and other S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, Potts arrived at Stark Industries intending to arrest the traitorous Obadiah Stane.   
When Potts attempted to access the room Stane was working in, she discovered Stane had changed the security codes, so Coulson used a small bomb to get them inside.

They searched for Stane and discovered Tony Stark's Iron Man armor which he had built and used to escape in Afghanistan.   
Potts then found Stane in his own highly upgraded and weaponised Iron Monger suit, which he used to attack Potts and the Agents.   
Potts barely managed to escape but was soon cornered by Stane, who punched through the floor to trap her attempted to execute her, joking that her services were no longer required.

Tony Stark then arrived in a charge-less Mark III armor and battled Stane.   
Eventually Stane's Iron Monger suit proved too powerful for Stark to defeat so he told Potts to overload the main Arc Reactor.   
Once Stane was in position, Stark ordered Potts to overload it, but she initially was reluctant, scared that the shockwave would kill Stark.   
When she did overload it, the shockwave killed Stane and charged up Stark's Mark I Arc Reactor, saving his life.

 

STARK'S ANNOUNCEMENT

After the incident she tended to Tony Stark's cuts while he prepared for a press conference.   
Phil Coulson gave him his cover story which named Iron Man as his bodyguard and claimed Obadiah Stane would soon disappear while on his yacht.   
When Potts thanked Coulson for all his work, he simply told her that she would be hearing from S.H.I.E.L.D. soon.   
To her surprise, Potts heard Stark say that if his secret identity was public, his girlfriend would constantly worry about him; adding to the fact Stark meant her, he stopped having one-night stands.   
Potts was later present at a press conference where Stark announced to the world that he was Iron Man.

 

SENATE HEARING

Pepper Potts joined Tony Stark at his senate committee hearing, led by Senator Stern, where Stern and a rival business partner Justin Hammer attempted to convince him to hand over the Iron Man armor to the US Government.   
James Rhodes joined the debate, defending his friend Stark.   
Whenever Stark took his comments too far, Potts would give him a look to tell him to take his sarcastic comments back.   
By the end of the committee hearing, Stark managed to prove that he was the only one capable of producing Iron Man armors and was allowed to go free.

 

NEW CEO OF STARK INDUSTRIES

Potts went to confront Tony Stark in his warehouse after she learned that he had sold his collection of art which Potts had worked to collect.   
As their conversation went on, Stark promoted Potts to Stark Industries' CEO while Stark got his affairs in order.   
Unbeknownst to her, he had developed terminal complications from the poisonous side-effects of the Arc Reactor's palladium core.   
As a result, he began to spiral out of control and eventually his increasingly reckless behavior pulled them apart entirely.

 

HIRING A REPLACEMENT

While Tony Stark and Happy Hogan were boxing together, Pepper Potts welcomed her replacement, Natalie Rushman.   
Stark invited Rushman to box with Hogan while he and Potts discussed her, Stark learned that she spoke several languages and came highly recommended.   
While they were talking Rushman threw Happy Hogan onto the ground during their fight, impressed Stark hired her on the spot.

 

DUEL OF MONACO

Tony Stark, Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan traveled to the Monaco Grand Prix where they met with Justin Hammer, who testified against Stark in the Senate Hearing.   
Hammer boasted to them about having scored an interview with Christine Everhart of Vanity Fair; however both Stark and Potts mocked them both, noting Hammer had lost his contract with the Government and Everhart had previously had a sexual relationship with Stark.

During their time at Monaco, Stark decided to race his sports car but was attacked by Ivan Vanko midway through the race, who used Arc Reactor technology to power a prototype weaponised suit and become Whiplash.   
Potts and Happy Hogan raced to Stark's aid, driving through the race track, dodging the other race cars before crashing into Vanko.   
When Ivan Vanko continued to attack them, Potts was able to give Stark another suit which he used to defeat Vanko, who was promptly arrested for his crimes.

On the flight back from Monaco, Potts watched a television interview with Senator Stern who once again expressed his disbelief in Iron Man.   
Eventually Tony Stark presented her with a plate of food which he had made, much to her surprise - "where do you think I was for three hours?"   
They went on to discuss Stark's birthday which he was no longer sure if he wanted to celebrate or not; Stark suggested that they go on holiday together, but she insisted that as CEO she needed to show her presence in this time of crisis.

Back at Tony Stark's Mansion, Pepper Potts and Natalie Rushman continued to defend Tony Stark's position as Iron Man after the attack of Ivan Vanko.   
While on the phone to various individuals, they were interrupted by Colonel James Rhodes, who demanded to speak to Stark.   
Rushman initially tried to usher him away but Potts gave up his location with no worry about how much it would annoy Stark to be confronted

 

DISASTROUS BIRTHDAY PARTY

Later Stark had a birthday party where he got completely drunk and decided to wear his Iron Man armor to entertain his guests by firing his repulsors at random objects, like champagne bottles and a watermelon, thrown in the air.   
When James Rhodes arrived he was furious about the sight and demanded that Potts stop him immediately.   
Potts was not amused either and tried to calm him down. Stark ignored her advice and continued the party.

Seeing that Stark had no intention of stopping and was continuing to endanger his guests, James Rhodes stole his own Iron Man armor and confronted Stark.   
When he refused to listen, Stark and Rhodes began fighting while Potts helped to get all the party guests to safety.   
As the fight continued Pepper Potts confronted Natalie Rushman, accusing her of starting the trouble, however while they were talking Rhodes and Stark fell through the ceiling, Happy Hogan ran to Potts aid and pulled her to safety.

 

PEACE OFFERING

Stark brought Pepper a box of strawberries he got from a street vendor.   
Meanwhile, she was on the phone attempting to get the Mark II armor back from the military while she heard in the background a reporter questioning her qualifications as CEO on television.   
When Stark entered, despite protests from Bambi Arbogast, Potts gave him time, as she counted the seconds, to plead his case as to why he was acting erratic.   
She berated him for giving her the job as she took flack for his messes.   
Natalie Rushman and Happy Hogan then entered and escorted Potts to the Stark Expo.

 

BATTLE AT STARK EXPO

Pepper Potts and Natalie Rushman travelled to the Stark Expo to watch as Justin Hammer unveiled his company, Hammer Industries, latest military marvel, a series of humanoid combat drones.   
Potts was unimpressed by Hammer's desperate need to imitate and outmatch Tony Stark in his presentation, however she was shocked when Hammer unveiled that he had recruited James Rhodes as the pilot of his War Machine Armor: Mark I.

The presentation was intruppeted by the arrival of Iron Man, who confronted Justin Hammer over supposedly working with Ivan Vanko.   
While Hammer denied this, before long the Hammer Drones were activated by Vanko and attacked Stark and the guests.   
Fearing for their safety and the safety of the guests, Potts and Natalie Rushman confronted Hammer and demanded they be shut down.   
When Hammer refused to give up the information, Rushman twisted his arm until he confessed to Ivan Vanko's location.

Rushman then departed to deal with them while Potts remained at the Expo, dealing with Hammer.   
Before long Rushman had broken into Hammer Industries and regained control of the War Machine Armor: Mark I, commenting that Tony Stark's new Arc Reactor had saved his life and he was no longer dying, having heard this, Potts demanded an explanation as to whether or not Stark was dying previously.   
Shortly after this the police arrived and Potts insured that Justin Hammer was arrested for his crimes.

Pepper Potts decided to stay at the Stark Expo to ensure everyone was safe.   
While there she saw a drone was glowing red, before she could react, Stark swooped in and saved her when the damaged drone she was looking at exploded along with all the others, destroying the entire area.   
Potts was extremely scared and quit the job of being CEO, giving it back to Stark.   
Stark and Potts then kissed after awhile and then James Rhodes interrupted them saying that they looked like "two seals fighting over a grape".

 

WAR FOR EARTH - INTERRUPTED BY COULSON

Pepper Potts had a romantic date with Tony Stark at the top floor of the Stark Tower, but they were later interrupted by the sudden arrival of Agent Phil Coulson, who needed to speak to Stark about an urgent matter.   
Coulson was forced to crash J.A.R.V.I.S.'s systems in order to get into the tower, since Stark was trying to close him outdoors.

Potts had befriended Coulson during their previous meetings, and asked him about his personal life with his girlfriend who Coulson revealed had broken up with him.   
Potts convinced Stark to read what documents Coulson was giving him.   
Potts was well aware of the Avengers Initiative, due to Stark's inability to keep a secret (especially a government-related one that he cared little for).

Though Stark wanted her to "stay the night", Potts managed to convince him to help S.H.I.E.L.D. save the world from Loki, by whispering a promise to him that he liked very much. She then caught a flight to Washington, D.C. to work on the zoning of three more Stark Industries buildings.

 

BATTLE OF NEW YORK

Later, when the Chitauri had started their invasion, Potts was on a private plane, safe in distance from the battle.   
She watched the battle in horror from the television on the plane.   
When Tony Stark sacrificed himself to destroy an atomic missile sent on Manhattan, he tried to call her on the phone, but she did not hear it and did not call back.   
However, Stark survived the mission.

With the Battle of New York over and Loki having been finally defeated, the Avengers were disbanded and everyone came back to their normal lives.   
Potts rejoined with Stark, helping him rebuild and redesign the now battle damaged Stark Tower into the Avengers Tower where his team to gather together ready to take on any mission with the intention of saving the world from destruction.   
While Potts and Stark designed the tower together, they shared their romantic moment while looking out over the city.

 

REUNION WITH ALDRICH KILIAN

One day Potts was exploring Stark Industries with the new Head of Security Happy Hogan, who despite his enthusiasm for the job, had increased the complaints excessively; he took it as a sign people were hiding things, rather than the fact he greatly annoyed them.   
Hogan continued to push his belief that the human resources devision of the company should be replaced by Tony Stark's A.I. Systems.   
Their conversation was cut short as Potts was visited by an old acquaintance, Aldrich Killian, who shocked her with his improved appearance since she'd last seen him.

Killian explained that he'd come to Stark Industries intending for Potts and Stark to join his organization Advanced Idea Mechanics, or at least invest in his concepts for world changing ideas.   
Killian pitched his concept about a serum that his company had developed called Extremis, which seemed to offer the chance to upgrade the human body.   
To prove his point, he used a holographic live-feed of his own mind, to show the effect that Extremis had on the human body, which greatly impressed Potts.

With the pitch over with, Pepper Potts and Aldrich Killian continued to discuss the concept of Extremis.   
In the end it was an offer she declined due to believing the serum could be highly weaponizable, which she believed Tony Stark would never support, although Killian argued that Stark might not be the best person to vote on the matter, but Potts stood by her word and told Killian that Stark Industries would not be investing in A.I.M..   
When Killian left Stark Industries he expressed his disappointment but gave Potts a kiss on the cheek before leaving with his body-guard Eric Savin.   
While Potts watched him leave, flustered from the kiss, Happy Hogan came over and told her that her car was ready to take her home.

 

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

Potts arrived home to find that Tony Stark had left an enormous Bunny Rabbit toy outside their home.   
Walking into the Mansion Potts found what she believed to be Stark sitting on the sofa wearing one of his Iron Man suits.   
The couple flirted for a while, with Stark offering her a massage and Potts asking him to open up the mask and kiss her, which he jokingly refused.

Potts then went downstairs to search for a crowbar to open the Iron Man Mask, only to discover Tony Stark there, having been controlling the Iron Man Suit via remote control video feed.   
Potts confronted her boyfriend over eating without her and they had a brief falling out before Stark finally confessed to be suffering from nightmares and insomnia due to his experiences of witnessing gods, aliens and other dimensions after the Battle of New York.   
Potts accepted this and offered to help, before inviting Stark to join her in the shower.

 

NIGHTMARES

This continued strain to Tony Stark's mental state resulted in him becoming increasingly distant from Potts, as his efforts to ensure that he could protect her ironically drove him to spend less time with her.   
While the couple slept together, Potts was awoke due to hearing Stark having a bad dream, this dream caused one of his Iron Man suits to power up and attack Potts.   
Although Stark awoke and de-powered the suit, the experience forced Potts to sleep downstairs away from Stark.

 

DESTRUCTION OF STARK'S MANSION

After Tony Stark publicly threatened the terrorist Mandarin in revenge for a terrorist explosion which badly injured Happy Hogan, Potts tried to convince him to leave the city, but then scientist Maya Hansen arrived at their mansion to warn Stark about the Mandarin as well.   
Shortly thereafter, armed helicopters attacked the mansion with missiles.   
In order to protect Potts, Stark commanded the Mark XLII to form around her.

With Potts now safe in the Iron Man Armor, she saved Stark from the falling debris; he then ordered her to use the suit to ensure that she and Hansen got to safety.   
Once Potts and Hansen were safe outside the collapsing structure, Stark summoned the suit once more, this time to himself, in order to defeat as many terrorists as he could. During the attack, the mansion was destroyed and Stark was left for dead as he seemed to drown as the mansion fell into the sea.

Later that night, while firecrews cleared the rubble from the remains of Tony Stark's Mansion, Potts found the helmet of a destroyed Mark VII.   
As Potts held the helmet and looked at it, she noticed it contained a secret message from Stark, telling her he had actually survived the attack, but could not return home until he found the Mandarin.   
Stark went on to apologize for putting her in harm's way, blaming himself for being stupid and selfish and promised to come home to her once her had stopped the Mandarin's attacks.

 

CAPTURED BY KILIAN

Potts and Maya Hansen drove away to a safe place as Potts demanded to know what Hansen apparently wanted to tell Tony Stark before they were attacked.   
As they drove along, Hansen revealed to Potts she had been working on the Extremis and that her boss, Aldrich Killian, was selling it to the Mandarin.

Hansen and Potts eventually found a hotel and decided to hide there.   
While they made themselves comfortable, Hansen told that she felt that although her aims when she became a scientist were pure, she felt her designs had led to evil.   
Hansen went on to tell Potts the story of the man who had invented the bombs that attacked England during World War II, comparing their own creations to his.   
Potts comforted her and told her that what had happened was not due to her, noting that Stark Industries worked in similar ways when they were building weapons.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door, which appeared to be room service.   
As Potts opened the door and welcomed the man in, she was horrified to see that Aldrich Killian had found them, breaking the neck on the hotel worker before choking her. Hansen revealed that she was still working for him and not against him.   
They needed Stark's intellect to stabilize Extremis, and that Potts could be used as an incentive.

 

BATTLE ON THE NORCO

Potts was injected with Extremis, and taken to the Norco, a docked oil tanker where Killian intended to keep her as collateral and as a trophy.   
As her Extremis infusion progressed through its second bonding stage, he also ushered the Iron Patriot armor into the room, which then deposited President Matthew Ellis onto the floor before them.   
Potts was shocked when Killian explained how the President was to be executed, before he stuffed Ellis back into the suit and sent him back out.

The execution was interrupted when Tony Stark and James Rhodes launched their rescue attempt, but were caught by Extremis Soldiers, leading to a battle in which Stark called for his Iron Legion.   
After several minutes of fighting, explosions rocked the room where Potts was imprisoned, sending her tumbling out onto a gantry, and almost within reach of Stark.   
He tried grabbing her, but failed, and Potts plummeted to the deck of the Norco.

The Extremis in her system saved her from the lethal drop however, regenerating the damage from the fall.   
When she awakened, she found Killian advancing on Stark.   
She intervened with a surprise attack of her own, first bashing Killian away with a metal bar, then hurling a Stark explosive at him.   
Detonating it with a repulsor ripped from a passing Iron Man armor, the explosive munition obliterated Aldrich Killian.

After being reunited, Stark and Potts reconciled.   
Stark promised Potts he could find a cure for the Extremis in her body, but also that he would no longer be obsessed with his job, as he ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to activate the Clean Slate Protocol, which caused every Iron Man armor to be destroyed in a firework-like explosion, in celebration of Christmas.   
Potts watched in amazement as Stark hugged and kissed her.

Stark was able to use his resources to cure Pepper of the Extremis and they continued their relationship.   
Pepper supported him when he made the decision to have the shrapnel removed from his heart, watching the operation with James Rhodes.   
When the procedure was done, Stark gave Pepper the gift a necklace made from the pieces of shrapnel, symbolising how she had changed his life for the better since they had started their relationship.

 

CONTINUING AS CEO

Maria Hill became an employee of Stark Industries during the HYDRA Uprising, apparently working with Potts.   
Potts was on the phone with Hill after Hill left a Congressional hearing concerning her part in the fall of the agency.   
Potts listened as Hill complained about Congress and the number of agents of the FBI along with other agencies who were tailing her; all of whom were poorly trained in Hill's opinion.   
Potts was told that she would be called again when Hill stopped the conversation abruptly.

Potts and Stark were having a minor playful argument at Stark Industries when Hill entered to tell them that J.A.R.V.I.S. was assembling the Avengers.

Months later, Potts went to the annual NYC Tech convention to speak on behalf of Stark Industries.

Potts was absent from the Avengers' victory party celebrating their victory over HYDRA in Sokovia.   
Stark told his guests that it was because of her duties running Stark Industries, but after Stark and Thor descended into an argument over whether Potts or Jane Foster was the better girlfriend, Hill sarcastically implied that both women were intentionally absent to avoid their boyfriends' "testosterone". 

In order to celebrate Earth day, Potts presented Stark Industries' latest advances in intellicrops.  
Following the Battle of Sokovia, Stark began devoting all of his time towards upkeeping the Avengers and spending more time at the New Avengers Facility; Potts and Stark decided to take a break from their relationship

 

SPIDER-MAN'S PRESS CONFRENCE

However, just a few months later, Potts and Tony Stark were back together.   
Potts was asked by Stark to arrange a press conference in the New Avengers Facility where they would announce Spider-Man as the newest member of the Avengers.   
As Spider-Man declined the invitation and left, Potts asked Stark what they should do with the reporters.   
Stark asked Happy Hogan for a ring and planned to propose publicly, although Potts told him that she could improvise something better than that.

 

INFINITY WAR

Walking through New York City, Stark told Potts about a dream he had where they had a child named Morgan after Pepper's eccentric uncle.   
During the conversation, where Pepper once again questioned Tony's need to be Iron Man, they were interrupted by the arrival of Doctor Strange who told Stark that the fate of the universe was at stake followed by Bruce Banner having returned and greeted Potts and hug Stark .

Later, during the Attack on Greenwich Village, Potts contacted Stark while he was aboard one of Thanos' Q-Ships.   
Potts begged Stark to get off the ship and come back to Earth.

 

PERSONALITY

As one of Tony Stark's oldest and closest friends, Pepper Potts knows Stark better than most and has always been there for him, whether he knew it or needed it.   
Though outsiders would view her as a degrading assistant or lackey, Stark himself appreciates her dedication and how long she took out with him when compared to everyone else and trusted her enough to run Stark Industries but his own self-obsession irritates and occasionally drive her away due to forgetting her birthday and buying her strawberries as a gift, the one thing on earth that she is allergic to.  
Despite knowing her place, Potts does not take disrespect to herself lightly.   
A sarcastic woman, when Christine Everhart condescends to her, she retains her decorum but snidely insinuates Everhart to be trash she needs to take out.   
With Stark, despite being her boss, Potts is not above a barbed remark for him such as buying herself a birthday gift with Tony's money when he forgot and keeping his Arc Reactor in a glass case, reading; "PROOF TONY STARK HAS A HEART".   
She seems to dislike violence in general, becoming deeply shocked over the explosion of the Hammer Drones at the Stark Expo and disgusted over violently killing Aldrich Killian with Extremis.

Even though Potts has proven to be a defining point for Stark's development and maturity, the relationship between the two of them is a definite struggle.   
At times, although he originally took up the mantle of Iron Man because the world needed it, Potts became to realize that Stark needed to be Iron Man more, causing strain as his tinkering and his suits were only a distraction to what really mattered in his life.   
His actions over anxiety of a world with gods and aliens were designed to protect the ones he love, which included her.   
However, this also pushed her away further.   
Ultron was designed to be the last line of defense for Earth against these threats so Stark being Iron Man would no longer be a necessity, but as his mistake created more problems and thus more reasons why he needed to be Iron Man, Potts could no longer be in a relationship with him and they decided to take a break.   
Despite these setbacks, Pepper decided to look past them and she ultimately got back with Stark once the Avengers Civil War was over and even helped Stark introduce Peter Parker as the newest member of the Avengers though when he declined, Stark decided to propose to her.   
When Stark was presumed dead again by the world during the Infinity War, Pepper was one of the few who knew he was alive and she demanded Stark to come back to her when she learned he became Iron Man again.

 

POWERS AND ABILITIES  
FORMER POWERS

-Superhuman Strength  
-Enhanced Agility  
-Regenerative Healing Factor  
-Exothermic Manipulation

 

ABILITIES

-Expert Businesswoman

 

TRIVIA

-In the comics, Pepper Potts married Happy Hogan.  
-In Iron Man 3, Potts, for a brief moment, dons the Iron Man Mark 42 suit by Tony Stark to save her from the explosion who in turn saves him from the falling debris. This is a reference to her comic book hero counterpart, Rescue.  
-The day Pepper had Christine Everhart leave was Potts' birthday.  
-Pepper is allergic to strawberries.  
-It's currently unknown whether or not Pepper has retained the Extremis powers after Stark stabilized her


	8. Whiplash (Ivan Vanko)

IVAN VANKO

Ivan Antonovich Vanko was a Russian physicist and the son of the disgraced scientist Anton Vanko.   
When Vanko's father died penniless due to the actions of Howard Stark, Vanko swore his revenge against Stark's own son, Tony and the whole Stark family for all the ruin and humiliation suffered by him and his own father, designing armor similar to Iron Man in order to publicly defeat him and destroy the reputation of his own family.   
Although his first attempt failed and he was then arrested, Vanko eventually joined forces with Justin Hammer, who had recruited him to build the Hammer Drones which Vanko stole in another attempt at Stark's life until he was finally defeated by the combined efforts of War Machine and Iron Man.   
In a final bid, Vanko sacrificed himself in a desperate attempt to destroy the Stark legacy.

 

BIOGRAPHY - EARLY LIFE  
SELLING WEAPONS

Ivan Vanko was the son of Anton Vanko, a Russian physicist who helped Howard Stark design the Arc Reactor, but was deported from the United States when Howard Stark accused him of espionage.   
Ivan was also convicted of selling Soviet-era weapons-grade plutonium to Pakistan and served 15 years in Kopeisk prison.   
Anton Vanko fell into poverty and alcoholism, and also abused his son for many years due to the humiliation caused to him personally by Stark.   
Ivan became knowledgeable in the fields of physics and mechanical sciences, and adopted his father's hatred for the Stark family.

 

BECOMING WHIPLASH - CREATING THE SUIT

As living in their broken home, Vanko cared for his father Anton Vanko as he became older and more frail as their many years in exile went on.   
While watching the news footage of Tony Stark, the son of their enemy Howard Stark, confessing to the world to being the famous superhero Iron Man, Anton called for his son to come help him eat his dinner.

As he ate, Anton apologized to his son for not allowing Ivan to be in Stark's position, noting that it should be him there as the CEO of Stark Industries.   
Vanko told his father not to think about this but his father kept speaking, reminding him that all he could now give him due to having no money was his vast knowledge before passing away.   
Seeing his father lying dead caused Vanko to take a large drink of Vodka before screaming into the air in mournful rage.

With his father now dead, Ivan Vanko focused his efforts in achieving his father's greatest wish.   
With this in mind he began work on a replica of the Arc Reactor based on his father's and Howard Stark's designs from the eighties.   
Vanko designed and constructed an exoskeleton with two electrified whips which could cut through almost anything, powered by a miniature Arc Reactor, to use against Tony Stark in an aggressive effort to discredit and kill him, thus securing revenge for his father.   
Vanko's overall aim was to bring down the Stark Industries' credibility forever, mirroring what he felt Howard Stark had done to his father decades before.

With his Whiplash Armor: Mark I now constructed and ready for battle, Vanko prepared to find and kill Stark in a public space.   
In a snow storm in the centre of Russia, Vanko met with an agent of one of Stark's other enemies, the Ten Rings terrorist organisation, who gave Vanko a ticket to Circuit de Monaco, which Stark would be attending.   
Vanko travelled to Monaco and disguised himself as a member of the pit-crew to get close enough to his target.

 

DUEL OF MONACO

Using his ticket given to him by the Ten Rings, Vanko arrived at the Monaco Grand Prix during the race and then disguised himself as a mechanic, with his Whiplash Armor: Mark I hidden under his clothes while he explored the racetrack searching for his target.   
When Vanko learned that Tony Stark would now be racing a car in the Grand Prix, Vanko knew that this would prove to be the perfect time to attack and finally kill the man whose father had destroyed his own family's legacy.

Vanko stepped into the race track of the Monaco Grand Prix, ripping open his shirt and using his Whiplash Harness to crash and destroy several cars in the race, including Stark's. Since Stark was without his armor and was therefore nearly defenceless, Vanko took his time to try to murder him, walking up to the car and enjoying the moment before cutting the car in half, however to Vanko's surprise, Stark had already gotten out of the car and seemingly escaped.

Stark struck Vanko from behind before he continued to prove to be adaptable to his new environments, tricking Vanko several times and escaping his blows.   
Having escaped from his car, Stark attempted to knock Vanko out, but despite all his best efforts, Vanko's weaponry seemed to be Stark's downfall, as he was unable to defend himself from the deadly whips which Vanko swung at him, although he still managed to avoid several of the lethal blows aimed at him.

Stark managed to cause an explosion to put some distance between himself and Vanko, however Vanko had refused to give up so easily.   
As he continued walking towards Stark, and just before Vanko could exact his own final revenge, Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts drove into the fight and crashed into Vanko, pinning him to the wall and briefly taking him out of the fight.   
While Vanko attempted to escape by cutting the car completely into pieces in a fit of rage.

Potts eventually managed to give Stark his new armor concealed in a suitcase.   
Now fully prepared for the battle, Iron Man kicked the car with Potts and Hogan inside out of harms way and then fought back against Whiplash.   
While Iron Man was now more durable, Whiplash blocked his gauntlet strikes as he struggled to defend himself against the deadly electric whips, which Vanko had managed to wrap around Stark's neck, which Vanko delighting in Stark's suffering.

Despite Vanko's best efforts to kill him by increasing the power of the whips while trying to chock him, Stark eventually defeated Vanko using his Iron Man Suit.   
With two punches to the face and stomach, Vanko was unable to stand and Stark destroyed Vanko's Arc Reactor before Vanko was captured and taken away to prison.   
As he was being pulled away by the police, Vanko spat out his own blood and continued to mock Stark, claiming that he had lost the fight.

 

ARREST AND INTERROGATION

While in custody, Tony Stark went to interrogate Vanko.   
Upon arriving Stark pointed out a few design flaws on the Whiplash harness and a few improvements that Vanko could have done.   
Stark asked Vanko why he did not sell his technology and how he had obtained an Arc Reactor.

Vanko replied that he wanted to remove Stark's awe from the people and demonstrate that Iron Man could be defeated as revenge for Howard Stark destroying the Vanko family. Vanko also deduced that Stark was being poisoned by the palladium in his Arc Reactor saying, "Palladium in the chest, painful way to die."   
As Stark left, Vanko laughed to himself, believing that even if he spent the rest of his life in prison, Stark would still die a horrible death.

 

SECOND CHANCE - DEAL WITH HAMMER

Later, Vanko was moved to his new prison cell to begin his sentence for his actions during the Duel of Monaco; there he was delivered his dinner which included dynamite disguised as mashed potatoes.   
Moments later, Vanko's celldoor was unlocked and another prisoner was brought into the cell with the same uniform number and similar build to Vanko.

Seeing this as his chance for freedom, Vanko quickly killed the man by smashing his head against a sink and activated the bomb before walking away from his cell.   
As he walked down the corridor, Vanko was stopped by a guard who he killed by breaking his neck just as the bomb went off in his cell.   
Before he could get outside however, Vanko was grabbed by some men who covered his face and threw him into a van before driving him away to a secret location.

Vanko was driven away with a bag over his head and was eventually taken out inside a private airport to meet Justin Hammer, owner of Hammer Industries and rival to Tony Stark. Once Vanko's handcuffs were removed, Hammer introduced himself and invited Vanko to sit down and eat dinner with him.   
While Vanko looked around him with considerable confusion, Hammer proudly revealed he had personally organised the faking of Vanko's death in the prison break.

Explaining why, Hammer noted that he had also been impressed by Vanko successfully recreating the Arc Reactor technology which had been claimed by many would be almost impossible.   
Vanko listened as Hammer explained he wanted Vanko to go build replica Hammer Armors which could discredit Stark's own technology, Vanko agreed as long as Hammer arranged to collect his bird from Russia, which Hammer agreed to do as they both raised their glasses.

 

BUILDING AN ARMY

Vanko was given the tour of the Hammer Industries Headquarters as he was personally taken round by Justin Hammer where Vanko was shown the prototypes for the Hammer Armors.   
Vanko immediately began work as he hacked into Hammer's security systems, easily overriding their pass-codes and commenting on how shit the software was.

Taking interest in the prototypes that were on display, Vanko went to take a closer look while Hammer then pointed out the cost of each machine made by Hammer Industries. Vanko however simply ignored everything Hammer was saying to him and began pulling apart the armor prototypes to examine them, much to the dismay of Hammer and his assistant Jack.   
Vanko then questioned exactly what Hammer wanted the armors to do and what they were for.

Hammer told Vanko that he intended to use his technology to ensure that Tony Stark's own inventions were a thing of the past, as he had planned on display his own advancements at the Stark Expo in the hopes of humilating Stark and taking the business away from Stark Industries.   
Vanko enjoyed the concept and promised that he could easily do everything Hammer required, much to Hammer's delight as they both then agreed to work together against Stark.

 

PITCHING DRONES

While taken a break from all of his own work, Justin Hammer arrived in the Hammer Industries Headquarters and delivered Vanko a pet bird, claiming it to be Vanko's from Russia, so Vanko called Hammer out, which Hammer was forced to confess to.   
While they were both talking, Hammer then noticed that his Iron Man suit prototypes had been redesigned into unmaned drones, with Hammer noting he needed suits for the United States Armed Forces as they had already been requested.

Vanko revealed he had changed the terms of the deal, confessing that he had retrofitted Hammer's existing armor technology from wearable suits into unmanned drones, claiming this was actually an improvement on Tony Stark's designs as people made problems.   
Hammer was horrified as the presentation at the Stark Expo had already been arranged, Vanko convinced him that this was the right decision, telling him not to get so attached to things.

 

ANGERING HAMMER

While working on the final designs for the Whiplash Armor: Mark II armor he had been constructing in his spare time, Ivan Vanko received a phonecall from Justin Hammer, who was busy playing golf with Senator Stern and wanted an update on the Hammer Drones.   
Vanko informed Hammer that the designs were incomplete and he would only be able to make the Drones perform a salute at the Stark Expo instead of the full weapons presentation he had promised Hammer, much to Hammer's own very clear frustration.

Furious and the betrayal, Justin Hammer stormed into Ivan Vanko's room at Hammer Industries Headquarters with two body guards.   
As punishment for his failure, Hammer ordered that the bird he had been given be taken away, along with his shoes and pillows.   
With Vanko now uncomfortable and annoyed, Hammer yelled in his face that he was also upset about how he had been betrayed by Vanko for not supplying him with what he needed for his presentation.

Hammer continued to rant at Vanko about how he had betrayed him before revealing that he had a new presentation to show off at the Stark Expo which would replace the demonstration he had planned with the drones.   
Hammer then left to attend the Expo, leaving Vanko being guarded by his bodyguards, who assured Vanko were not to be messed with, although Vanko sat confidently waiting to be alone with them so he could kill them and make his escape.

 

BATTLE AT STARK EXPO

Vanko was then locked up in Hammer Industries Headquarters with Hammer's guards.   
Vanko killed his guards with minimal effort and then phoned Tony Stark, revealing himself to in fact be alive and well, commenting that Stark himself seemed to be better himself after his poisoning from his Arc Reactors.   
Vanko began boasting that he had now rebuilt and also perfected his Whiplash Armor: Mark II, using Stark's recommendation, he then promised to destroy Stark Industries within 40 minutes as revenge for what Howard Stark did to his own father all those 40 years prior before hanging up the phone.

As the Hammer Industries presentation went underway at the Stark Expo, Vanko remotely took control of the Hammer Drones, as well as the War Machine armor worn by James Rhodes and used them to attack the guests, Justin Hammer as well as Iron Man.   
The Drones chased Stark through the Expo, with War Machine leading as Rhodes attempted to warn him.   
Vanko watched this from a screen as more Drones were destroyed and the battle went in Stark's favor.

 

FINAL SHOWDOWN

As the lengthy fight involving Iron Man and the Hammer Drones still progressed, Vanko discovered that Black Widow was approaching and was going to kill him, so he abandoned the factory and got into an armored suit of his own and escaped the facility before he could be found.   
Widow then restored control of the War Machine armor back to James Rhodes who then helped Stark battle and destroy the Hammer Drones.

As all the drones had been destroyed by this point, Vanko landing before them in his upgraded Whiplash Armor: Mark II and challenged the pair. In an attempt to finish the fight early, War Machine tried to use one of Hammer Industries weapons called the Ex-Wife Missile, but unsurprisingly it malfunctioned, much to Vanko's amusement.   
While Iron Man then attempted to shoot him in the head, Vanko then armed himself and attacked the pair who fought back.

Whiplash readied his whips and fought Iron Man and War Machine alone.   
The superior bulk and capabilities of the Whiplash suit initially outmatched the combined efforts of War Machine and Iron Man and he was soon able to nearly rip their suits apart. When War Machine attempted to use the mini gun to destroy the Whiplash armor, Vanko simply tore it apart before stepping on and crushing the War Machine armor while still fighting the determined Iron Man.

 

DEFEAT AND SACRIFICE

As the fight neared its eventual conclusion, Vanko managed to wrap his electric whips around both Iron Man and War Machine' necks, slowly killing them, but working together they soon found a way to beat him by reusing a trick they learned during their own battle, by shooting beams of energy from their Arc Reactors at each other, the combination of which caused a massive explosion which almost completely destroyed Vanko's suit and threw the two heroes backwards to safety.

As he lay wounded and dying in what remained of his armor, Vanko knew he was finally defeated and revealed that he had concealed self-destruct devices in his suit as well as all of the Hammer Drones, meaning that the entire Stark Expo was going to be destroyed.   
Vanko attempted to kill him by detonating an explosive device his armor, his dying words being, "You lose", but failed as Iron Man flew away to try to save Pepper Potts and was killed instantly.

 

PERSONALITY

Anton Vanko was deported from United States of America in the late 60's for selling weapons to Pakistan along with his son, Ivan.   
He was often at the receiving end of his father's alcoholic rages in this stupor but most of all, Vanko was raised to hate the Starks for what they did to his father whom he evidently loved dearly despite this abuse.   
Using his intelligence and patience, Vanko vowed revenge against Howard Stark's son, Tony by destroying his legacy and reputation the same way his family did to Vanko's, even spending his life imprisoned solely to destroy Tony's name by showcasing his own Arc Reactor in Monaco to counteract Stark's previous statement a few days earlier; that no one was in possession of his technology.

He's an opportunistic manipulator, having easily tricked Justin Hammer until letting him use his resources to build the new Whiplash suit and the Hammer Drones army without any real intention to support Hammer's cause.   
He also called Stark to taunt him into going to confront the Hammer so the drones could attack him in front of a large audience.   
Vanko was very overconfident, when he called Stark to explain his plans he took the chance to brag that he used Stark's advice to improve the Whiplash Armor before explaining his plans and was often seen with a confident sadistic smile when attacking others.   
Vanko's overconfidence proved to be his biggest weakness as in both of his battles with Iron Man he frequently took his time to enjoy taunting and attacking Stark unaware that doing so gave Tony enough time to counterattack.

Vanko was also an alcoholic, something which he picked up from his his father.   
When Anton died in front of him he took a swig of whiskey and when being recruited by Justin Hammer, the two cheered where Vanko took the entire bottle.   
The only thing Vanko has any attachment to is his bird back in Russia which he demanded that Hammer bring to him in exchange for Vanko to begin working for him

 

ABILITIES

-Expert Combatant  
-Whip Mastery  
-Master Engineer  
-Genius Intellect  
-Expert Computer Skills  
-Tactician  
-Multilingualism

 

EQUIPMENT

Vanko possessed two Arc Reactor powered suits which offered him increased strength as well as durability and in which the primarily weapon were a pair of electrified whips by the arc reactor in the centre of the suits.

-Whiplash Armor: Mark I  
-Whiplash Armor: Mark II

 

IVAN VANKO DESIGNS

-Arc Reactor  
-Whiplash Armor: Mark I  
-Whiplash Armor: Mark II   
-Hammer Drones

 

TRIVIA

-The Ivan Vanko character is an combination of elements from Iron Man villains Whiplash and the Crimson Dynamo.  
-Marvel Comics created a new version of Whiplash named Anton Vanko in the Mainstream Universe that was similar to this character shortly before the release of Iron Man 2, as the Ivan Vanko version of Whiplash was not similar to any other one of the other characters named Whiplash in the comics.  
-Vanko's fake ID and alias on the Monaco Grand Prix track use the name Boris Turgenov, a reference to the second Crimson Dynamo.  
-Although that he appears as Whiplash himself, this alias was never adopted or mentioned by him, or by any character in the film.  
-An alternative ending for Iron Man 2 showed Whiplash attacking Pepper Potts at the Stark Expo, but being killed by War Machine.


	9. Anton Vanko

ANTON VANKO

Anton Vanko was a Soviet scientist and Ivan Vanko's father.   
He used to be partners with Howard Stark at Stark Industries.   
Along with Howard, he created the first Arc Reactor.

 

BIOGRAPHY - EARLY LIFE  
MEETING AGENT CARTER

Anton Vanko was born in the Soviet Union and grew up to become a brilliant scientist.   
In 1946, he was working for Stark Industries in a New York facility.   
When Peggy Carter discovered that one of Howard Stark's formulas had been weaponized, she and Edwin Jarvis took a difused version of that weapon to Anton Vanko.   
He concluded that Roxxon Oil Corporation could be one of few candidates capable of producing the weapon.   
He also added that the Nitramene emitted Vita Radiation. 

In 1963 he defected from the Soviet Union to the United States of America where he began working directly with Howard Stark, CEO of Stark Industries.

 

BETRAYING STARK - SELLING MILITARY SECRETS

Together, Vanko and Howard Stark worked on developing the Arc Reactor technology under the title of 'The Unity Project'.   
However, they had an ideological disagreement.   
Anton wanted to use the research to make money, while Howard wanted to help humanity with it.  
In 1967, it was discovered that Anton Vanko was guilty of espionage.   
Howard Stark took credit for all the Arc Reactor research and Anton was deported back to the U.S.S.R..   
Because Anton couldn't develop the technology on his own for the Soviet Union, he was sent to Siberia for 20 years.   
He was able to return to Moscow following Premier Gorbachev’s call for democratization in January 1987, where he raised his son Ivan Vanko.

 

DEATH AND LEGACY

Years into his exile and slow downward spiral, Vanko was bitter and claimed before his death that it should be Ivan Vanko in Tony Stark's position being adored by the media, living a luxurious lifestyle, telling Ivan to use what he had been taught.   
After Anton's death, Ivan began constructing the Whiplash armor and plotting his revenge against Stark

 

ABILITIES

-Master Engineer  
-Multilingualism

 

TRIVIA

-In the comics, there are two characters named Anton Vanko, who were both enemies of Iron Man. One's alter ego was the Crimson Dynamo. The other's alter ego was Whiplash. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Whiplash is Anton's son, Ivan. Crimson Dynamo appears in the non-canon video games Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3 - The Official Game. In the former his real name is General Valentin Shatalov, while in the latter he is an unidentified Russian officer. This version of Anton Vanko is more similar to Igor Vanko.  
-Vanko defected to the United States in 1963, the year in which Crimson Dynamo first appeared in the comics.


	10. Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SPOILERS for Infinity War   
> There are some comic bits in her btw

BLACK WIDOW

Natalia Alianovna "Natasha" Romanoff, better known as Black Widow, is one of the most talented spies and assassins in the entire world and a founding member of the Avengers. Originally an agent of the Soviet agency for foreign intelligence, the KGB, she later became a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., the international counter-intelligence agency.   
Having extensive mastery in martial arts and armed with her Widow's Bite, Black Widow became one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most efficient agents.   
During one mission, she was sent undercover into Stark Industries to watch Tony Stark due to fears that he was dying.   
During this mission, Romanoff had assisted Stark with defeating Ivan Vanko's terrorist plots against him.

When Loki declared war on the Earth, Black Widow was recruited into the Avengers as her friend Clint Barton had just been taken hostage by Loki and used as a pawn against the team.   
Romanoff assisted in recruiting Stark and Bruce Banner into the team while they tracked down and attempted to capture Loki, eventually saving Barton from his grasp.   
Once Loki's entire plan had been uncovered, Romanoff joined the team during the Battle of New York and was instrumental in destroying the portal over the city which had been created by the Tesseract, effectively ending the entire invasion while Loki was defeated and captured.

In the wake of the Avengers successfully defeating Loki, Romanoff had continued her work with S.H.I.E.L.D., this time working with fellow agent Captain America.   
While working together, Romanoff and Rogers uncovered a conspiracy following an assassination attempt on director Nick Fury, which had eventually led to them discovering that HYDRA had somehow been infiltrating their entire organization.   
Despite the efforts of the Winter Soldier to stop them, Romanoff helped expose Alexander Pierce's evil schemes to the world, which also resulted in all of her own morally dubious history being revealed to the world.   
As a result, Romanoff was forced into dropping off the grid again to begin rebuilding her cover.

Romanoff eventually rejoined the Avengers, working to bring down various HYDRA cells across the world and assisting in the capture of their leader, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. However, before she could form a romantic relationship with Bruce Banner, the rogue artificial intelligence Ultron was created by Tony Stark and Banner, forcing Romanoff and the rest of their team to join together and defeat him.   
Despite being captured, Romanoff was able to inform the team of Ultron's location on Sokovia, resulting in a final battle in which the Avengers had defeated Ultron once and for all.   
Unlike most members of the original Avengers, Black Widow remained a member while forming the second incarnation of the team.

As many of the governments of the world had demanded the Avengers to sign the Sokovia Accords in the wake of their recent battles, Romanoff agreed to their terms and signed the Accords.   
She later joined Iron Man in a fight against Captain America due to his disagreements with the Accords and his criminal activities with the Winter Soldier who Rogers was attempting to protect.   
As the two Avengers' factions fought against each other, Romanoff betrayed Iron Man's team in order to assist Captain America to find the instigator of the team's fight.   
As a result, Black Widow had to escape from the government for aiding her old friend, while being on the run, Romanoff soon joined the fugitive Rogers and Wilson in stopping terrorists.

When the threat of Thanos approached Earth, Romanoff , Rogers, and Wilson protected Vision who had the Mind Stone, which Thanos was after.   
They later defended Wakanda from the attack and managed to kill all of Thanos's forces but unfortunately Thanos effortlessly overpowered Romanoff and the other heroes when he personally came to Wakanda and destroyed half of all life in the universe with the assembled Infinity Gauntlet.   
Romanoff remained one of the few survivors of the act.

 

BIOGRAPHY - EARLY LIFE  
LIVING IN RUSSIA

Natalia Alianovna Romanoff was born on November 22, 1984 in Stalingrad, as Samuel Sterns managed to identify her exact birthplace from a hint of accent in her voice.

 

RED ROOM TRAINING

At a young age, Romanoff was recruited by the KGB.  
At a Red Room facility, she endured both an education and indoctrination into the world of spy-craft.   
Romanoff excelled in this strict training environment and soon became regarded as a master spy and one of the world's greatest assassins.   
Her ruthless effectiveness in later years earned her the code name, Black Widow.  
As a final ceremony to complete her training, Romanoff was sterilized, as to avoid any distractions and focus solely on her missions, something she deeply regretted later in her life.

 

ON S.H.I.E.L.D's RADAR

Due to both her expertise and her growing threat to global security, Romanoff quickly appeared on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar, prompting director Nick Fury to send agent Clint Barton, better known as Hawkeye, to eliminate her.   
Hawkeye disobeyed this order, recognizing her skill, and recommended her for recruitment for S.H.I.E.L.D. At the behest of Fury, Romanoff later defected from Russia and joined the ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D.   
From that moment on, she developed a lasting partnership with Barton.   
Together they had missions in Budapest, Abidjan, and many other locations.   
Natalia eventually started going by the name "Natasha".

 

SERVING AS A S.H.I.E.L.D AGENT - THE WINTER SOLDIER

In 2009, when she was assigned to protect a nuclear scientist, she was attacked by the mysterious assassin known as the Winter Soldier, who was sent to kill the scientist.   
Though she and the scientist were pushed over a cliff, Romanoff managed to save both herself and the man she was protecting.   
Seeing this, the Winter Soldier fired a single round through Romanoff's stomach and into the scientist, effectively killing him. 

After this encounter, Romanoff would go on to attempt to track down the Winter Soldier for an unspecified amount of time, but was forced to give up after accepting that he was more elusive than any other enemy she had encountered.

 

NATALIE RUSHMAN

Under the name "Natalie Rushman", Romanoff did modeling work in Tokyo as part of an undercover operation.  
Romanoff was then sent on one of her usual missions, sent to ruin an operation of the Ten Rings.   
She boarded the Ten Rings plane and caused its explosion.   
Just as she was fighting of a Ten Rings operative in the plane, she was sent by Nick Fury to infiltrate Stark Industries.   
Under the guise of "Natalie Rushman", Romanoff was hired as a notary public by Secretary Bambi Arbogast.   
Romanoff worked her way at getting to Tony Stark in many ways, including secretly making her co-worker, Samantha Carlisle, sick in order to deliver documents to Stark.

 

WATCHING TONY STARK

The ulterior motive for her employment was for her to keep an eye on Tony Stark after he signed his company over to Pepper Potts.   
In reality, Romanoff had been assigned to assess whether he was suitable for a plan to bring together a group of people with unparalleled talents.   
Romanoff arrived as Potts' replacement catching the attention of Stark and Happy Hogan while they were boxing.   
Romanoff obtained signatures from Potts as Stark asked for her name and then telling her to join him in the boxing ring.

Stark then told Hogan to give Romanoff a lesson for which Hogan didn't take seriously not being aware of her training.   
Stark ran a search on her and discovered that she was fluent in French, Italian, Russian, and Latin and had done some modeling in Japan.   
As Romanoff watched Stark ogle her, Hogan went to hit her, but Romanoff blocked the blow and scissored him around the head and pinned him to the ground.   
Romanoff then got out of the ring and obtained Stark's fingerprint and then left, leaving Stark astounded.   
Romanoff went on to be Starks assistant from then on.

 

MONACO

Romanoff met Stark and Potts in Monaco who greeted them and guided Stark with the photographers and informed him of his nine-thirty dinner which he told her he'll arrive at eleven.   
When Stark appeared on the television, contesting in the Monaco Grand Prix, Potts called Romanoff over to see if she knew about it which she didn't.   
Potts asked for Romanoff to get Hogan and bring him to her so they could stop Stark.

 

STARK'S PARTY

On Tony Stark's birthday, Romanoff walked in on Stark, who was observing his Arc Reactor in his chest which was getting worse, with a selection of watches to wear for his party. The two then talked about whether he should cancel his party due to recent events.   
Romanoff then covered up some of Starks bruises on his face as Stark asked her what she would do if it was her last birthday, which she told him that she would do whatever she wanted with whoever she wanted to do it with before leaving.

Taking in what Romanoff said, Stark got really drunk, flirting with Romanoff and letting her wear an Iron Man Gauntlet and blast an ice sculpture.   
After being frustrated with Stark's behaviour, James Rhodes, stole Starks Iron Man Armor: Mark II and engaged in a fight with Stark, causing the party guests to leave.  
During Stark's and Rhodes' fight, Romanoff ran into Potts who confronted her saying that ever since she arrived she know something wasn't right.   
Suddenly the fight made its way to the two causing them to evacuate.   
Romanoff then contacted Director Nick Fury and debriefed him on the situation.   
When he offered to come, she told him not to.

 

REVEALING HERSELF TO STARK

Now dressed in her S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform, Romanoff met with Fury at Randy's Donuts to provide a short-term antidote to Stark's palladium poisoning.  
Sneaking in from the back entrance, Romanoff surprised Stark as she revealed to be an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. the entire time.   
Stark said she was fired but Romanoff made it clear that it wasn't up to him.   
Fury introduced her to Stark revealing Natalie Rushman isn't her name and that she was assigned by Fury to watch him.   
Romanoff gave Stark a serum which postponed the effects of the Arc Reactor's radiation, which was poisoning his body, so he could work on a cure.

Later, Romanoff, along with Fury and Phil Coulson, went to Tony Stark's Mansion and she was told by Fury that she was to remain in position as an assistant.   
Later at Stark Industries, while Stark was visiting Pepper Potts, Romanoff walked in and requested for Potts to sign something.   
Romanoff was told by Potts to sort out the personal belongings with Stark.   
When Potts left, Stark started to grill Romanoff and told her that he found it amazing that she does what she does.   
When he claimed that she could not speak other languages, she replied in Latin, then repeated herself in English, telling him that he could, "Either drive himself home or she can have him collected."

 

HUNT FOR IVAN VANKO

At the Stark Expo, Romanoff was in attendance with Pepper Potts when Ivan Vanko started to take control over the Hammer Drones.   
Romanoff and Potts followed Justin Hammer where they discovered that Vanko had taken control over the drones after Romanoff threatened Hammer.   
Romanoff left Potts and went outside where she ordered Happy Hogan to go to Hammer Industries Headquarters.   
As they drove, Romanoff got changed in the back into her S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform, causing Hogan to try to watch.

When they arrived at the facility, Romanoff told Hogan, who was confused on what she was wearing, to stay in the car.   
Romanoff broke into the facility and the two were approached by a guard who Hogan engaged in a fight while Romanoff continued.   
She then defeated any guards in her way using multiple gadgets like her Taser Disks, Flash Bombs, Wire and Pepper Spray as well as her skills.   
Romanoff managed to defeat all the guards with ease and continued to Vanko's location where she found he wasn't there.   
Romanoff was able to gain back control over Rhodes' battle suit.   
She also informed Iron Man of Vanko arriving at his location after they defeated all the Hammer Drones.  
She then retrieved Hammer Industries data before Ivan Vanko's bombs went off.

 

CHITUARI INVASION - INTERROGATED BY GEORGI LUCHKOV

Romanoff's next target was Georgi Luchkov, the corrupt Russian general who illegally sold weapons to the highest bidder.   
Romanoff was sent to spy on Luckkov's activities, however she was knocked out from behind by one of his henchmen, who caught her sneaking around.   
When she awoke, she found herself tied to a chair, yet when Luchkov interrogated her, he unknowingly spilled all of his secrets.   
However as Luchkov was preparing to seeminly torture Black Widow, and whilst the mention of torture gave Agent Romanoff a scare, her interrogation was interrupted when Phil Coulson called and requested to speak to Romanoff.

Coulson informed Romanoff that she needed to come in which she refused as she was in the middle of an interrogation, but when Coulson informed her that Clint Barton was compromised as incentive.   
Romanoff put Coulson on hold and then immediately freed herself and fought and captured Luchkov and his men.   
Coulson told Romanoff to go recruit Bruce Banner which she hesitated and asked to recruit Tony Stark, which Coulson had covered.   
Romanoff then picked up her shoes and left the warehouse and went to go recruit Bruce Banner.

 

RECRUITING BRUCE BANNER

Romanoff traveled to Bruce Banner's hidden location in Kolkata, India.   
She had a child to act as if her father was sick to lead him into an abandoned house.   
Banner, realized that it was a set up as Romanoff calmly introduced herself and explained the situation to him.   
Romanoff told Banner that it was just the two of them, which was a lie as multiple S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were outside.   
She told Banner about the Tesseract and that they require his help to locate it as the Tesseract emits a weak Gamma Radiation signal.

Banner reassured that Hulk was not needed which Romanoff told him that Nick Fury had not mentioned anything about Hulk.   
When Romanoff tried to assure Banner that he would not be imprisoned, Banner mocked rage to test her reaction; she pulled a gun on him and aimed it at his head, but Banner calmly explained he was testing her.   
Romanoff was able to convince Banner to come into S.H.I.E.L.D. and ordered the agents outside to stand down.

 

ASSEMBLING ON THE HELICARRIER

Romanoff brought Bruce Banner onto the Helicarrier, to help locate the Tesseract.   
Coulson then arrived with Steve Rogers and introduced the two.   
Romanoff then told Coulson that he was needed on the bridge.   
The two then walked together and got aquatinted and asked him if Coulson asked him to sign his trading cards.   
She introduced Banner to Rogers and recommended that they move inside as it would become hard to breathe.   
The Helicarrier then began to take off so the three went inside.   
Inside the Helicarrier, Romanoff showed Banner to his lab and continued to search for Clint Barton.

 

CAPTURING LOKI

S.H.I.E.L.D. located Loki in Stuttgart, Germany and Romanoff flew on Quinjet to this location with Steve Rogers.   
As Captain America fought Loki, Romanoff tried to get a shot at Loki but was unable to due to Loki using his magic to make multiple illusions of himself appear.   
Suddenly loud AC/DC'S Shout to Thrill music started to play on the Quinjet as Iron Man flew in to help asking if she had missed him, making Romanoff smile.   
They succeed in capturing Loki and brought him on the Quinjet to take him to the Helicarrier.

On their way back in the Helicarrier, Nick Fury asked Romanoff whether Loki had said anything, which Romanoff informed him that Loki had stayed silent.   
Suddenly an unexpected lightning storm was taking place and Thor suddenly entered the Quinjet and left with Loki in tow.   
Romanoff asked if Thor was another Asgardian as Iron Man went to retrieved him.   
Captain America then went to join Iron Man, when Romanoff warned him that he should sit this one out as Thor comes from legend and is basically a god, but he chose to fight anyway saying that there is only god and he doesn't dress the same way Thor does

 

INTERROGATING LOKI

As Loki was being locked up, Romanoff listened in as he and Nick Fury talked to each other.   
Romanoff told Thor that Erik Selvig and Clint Barton are under Loki's control.   
When Thor told Bruce Banner to take care of how he speaks about Loki as he is his brother, Romanoff informed him that Loki had killed eighty people in two days making Thor tell them that Loki was adopted.   
Romanoff decided to interrogate Loki and find out his intentions.

Romanoff approached the demigod Loki, undetected so she could interrogate Loki which he noted that not a lot of people could sneak up on him. Romanoff wanted to know what Loki has done with Clint Barton which Loki told her that he had expanded his mind.   
Whenever Romanoff asked what would happen to Barton after Loki had conquered Earth, Loki questioned Romanoff's feelings asking if it was love.   
Romanoff made it clear that she owed Barton a debt and she told Loki about her history with Barton.

Romanoff decided to pretend to break down her barriers to Loki so he would reveal his plans.   
Loki then began to taunt Romanoff telling her about her history which Barton had told him about.   
Loki then told Romanoff that he would force Barton to kill Romanoff but he ended up revealing that he planned on unleashing Banner's monstrous alter-ego, Hulk.   
Romanoff then warned S.H.I.E.L.D. about Loki's plan and went to escort Banner to his room.

 

LOKI'S MANIPULATION

After figuring out Loki's plan to unleash Hulk, Romanoff made her way to the lab Bruce Banner was working in to escort him.   
An arguement then broke out between the Avengers due to the effects of the Mind Stone. Romanoff stayed silent for most of the time except when she tried to escort Banner to his cell.   
While the group argued, Clint Barton, under the control of Loki, fired an explosive arrow onto the Helicarrier which blew up the lab.   
Romanoff was briefly knocked out and she and Banner were thrown into another room.

 

ATTACK ON THE HELICARRIER

Whilst Romanoff lay senseless on the floor, a large piece of equipment had fallen on to her foot, and she awoke to find herself trapped with Banner transforming into Hulk. Romanoff attempted to calm Banner down, but he was too angry.   
Romanoff saw two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents coming to help, but she told them to leave, knowing they would be in danger.   
As Romanoff tried to free herself, she witnessed as Banner transformed into Hulk, leaving Romanoff horrified.   
Romanoff eventually freed herself and attempted to escape from Hulk.   
Filled with rage, Hulk chased after Romanoff and nearly killed her.   
Romanoff tried to hide from Hulk but she could not escape from him.   
Romanoff attempted to fend herself off from Hulk and barely did causing her to try to run away from Hulk.   
Hulk managed to outrun Romanoff and threw her aside, which winded her and broke 2 of her ribs.   
As Hulk went to kill Romanoff, Thor charged into Hulk saving Romanoff.

Still dazed after her encounter with Hulk, Romanoff was forced to take on Clint Barton who was under Loki's control.   
Barton was walking down the Helicarrier when he was confronted by Romanoff who snuck up behind him in an attempt to disarm him.   
The two old friends had a prolonged fight using her combat skills, Romanoff was able to fight Barton and defend herself from his attacks with his bow and arrows and knife.   
When the fight got dirtier, Romanoff used her teeth to disarm Barton.   
Barton used all his top level training to kill his former friend, including firing several arrows at her, although Romanoff was able to dodge them, as well as attempting to drive a knife into her neck while pulling her hair back.

In the end Barton was no match for Romanoff's speed and quick-thinking and eventually she got the upper hand, disarming him and slammed Barton's head onto a steel pipe.   
The blow weakened Loki's grip on Barton's mind and he recognized Romanoff, calling her by her first name before she knocked him out with a final strong punch to the head, breaking his connection to Loki and restoring his mind.   
Romanoff watched as Barton was taken away by a S.H.I.E.L.D. team to be rehabilitated.

 

CLINT BARTON'S RECOVERY

After Romanoff defeated Clint Barton, he was arrested and tied down until it was certain that Loki's control was gone and he was no longer a threat.   
Romanoff looked after Barton in the recovery room, listening to him as he described the experience, which he compared to being unmade, which Romanoff understood from past experiences.   
Despite him asking, Romanoff refused to tell Barton how many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents he had killed, telling him that Loki and Loki alone was responsible for the killings and he must not blame himself.   
When Captain America arrived to ask Romanoff if she could pilot a Quinjet, Barton told him he could.   
After Romanoff gave him the nod of approval, Rogers allowed Barton to join them on the mission

 

BATTLE OF NEW YORK

Black Widow was prepared to fight Loki beside the other Avengers and his Chitauri army, though being a spy and not a soldier.   
Hawkeye flew her and Captain America into New York in a Quinjet where the portal had already opened over the city, allowing thousands of aliens to enter and attack.   
Loki managed to shoot the Quinjet out of the sky and the team fought the extraterrestrials on the ground.   
Alongside Hawkeye, Black Widow fought the oncoming horde of Chitauri soldiers until the rest of the Avengers arrived.   
Black Widow used all her skills and weapons to defeat the Chitauri army while the civilians all clear out.   
While Black Widow and Hawkeye fight the Chitauri, she reminded him that the situation of being similar to a mission they took place in Budapest, which Hawkeye told Black Widow that he remembered Budapest differently. 

When the others arrived, Captain America ordered that Black Widow and he would stay on the street to protect the people and keep the fight where they could control it.   
She and Captain America fought hard; She used her Black Widow's Bite and guns to kill dozens of Chitauri soldiers.   
However, the fight was almost too exhausting for her.

 

CLOSING THE PORTAL

After a while the plan of keeping the fight contained proved meaningless; she decided to obtain one of the Chitauri Chariots and fly it to Stark Tower.   
On the way she was chased by Loki and called on Hawkeye to shoot him out of the sky.   
She eventually made it to Stark Tower where the portal to their domain was open and met Erik Selvig, who had come out of the mind control.   
Together, using Loki's scepter, they closed the portal for good, ending the invasion.

Later, the team took a breather at the Shawarma Palace.   
They were interrupted by War Machine, who arrived too late to help in the battle.  
The Avengers gathered together in Central Park the next day to send Thor back to Asgard with Loki and the Tesseract.   
While Loki was in chains, Romanoff whispered something in Barton's ear about Loki's punishment, causing Barton to grin.   
When the team went their separate ways, Romanoff left with Barton in a S.H.I.E.L.D. car.

 

HYDRA UPRISING - PICKING UP ROGERS

Romanoff drove down to Washington, D.C. where she would pick up Steve Rogers who was talking with Sam Wilson.   
Romanoff sent Rogers a text to meet her as they had a mission and drove up to the two.   
As Rogers made his way in the car, Romanoff joked about his age by calling him a fossil.   
The two then drove away to meet up with the STRIKE team.

 

FIGHTING THE PIRATES

Romanoff and Rogers were sent with the STRIKE team to liberate the Lemurian Star, the S.H.I.E.L.D. vessel in the Indian Ocean that was highjacked by pirates led by Georges Batroc.   
As the team got ready to land, Romanoff and Rogers chatted about Saturday night plans which Rogers had none.   
She also tried to get Rogers to ask a woman out but he claimed he was too busy as he jumped out of the Quinjet without a parachute.

As the Rogers and the rest of STRIKE team went to rescue the hostages, Romanoff suggested that he ask out the nurse across the hall from him and proceeded to the engine room.   
As Georges Batroc ordered a pirate to start the engines, Romanoff stuck up behind him a knocked him out as well as shorting several other pirates as she grappled down the boat. Rogers asked Romanoff for her status as she was in the middle of a fight with a few pirates in the engine room.   
She secured the room and knocked out the final pirates with a blow to the face with a steel pipe.

When Rogers knocked out Batroc, he discovered Romanoff's real mission was to retrieve confidential protected S.H.I.E.L.D. files in a flash drive.   
As the two argued about the mission, Batroc threw a grenade at them which Rogers knocked away and Romanoff shot the glass and the two jumped through the window, just getting clear of the blast.   
Romanoff took responsibility for Batroc getting away and the two made their way to the Quinjet.

 

FURY'S DEATH

Romanoff met up with Rogers at the hospital and witnessed Nick Fury being operated on.   
Romanoff asked Rogers about the shooter as Maria Hill joined them telling the two the ballistics were untraceable.   
The three then watched as the doctors attempted to revive Fury but were failing leaving Romanoff devastated as she watched Fury "die".   
Romanoff said her goodbyes to Fury when Hill told them that she needed to take Fury.   
Romanoff then asked Rogers why Fury was in his apartment the night he was shot which he told her he didn't know but Romanoff could tell that he was lying.

After Rogers was made a fugitive, he went back to the hospital to retrieve the USB he left in a vending machine behind pieces of gum only to find it was gone.   
Romanoff then stood behind Rogers chewing gum implying she took the USB.   
Rogers questioned Romanoff about the USB's location and what was on it which she told him that it was safe and that she didn't know what was on it.   
She then told him the masked man who killed Fury was a spy known as the Winter Soldier and she had encountered him once before.

 

ON THE RUN FROM S.H.I.E.L.D

Romanoff, who was now also on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D., followed Rogers and they went to an internet cafe to see if there was any valuable information on the drive.   
As Romanoff tried to decrypt the USB, she informed Rogers that they had nine minutes until S.H.I.E.L.D. would find them.   
As the two looked through where the USB files came from, one of the store employees asked if they needed help which Romanoff told him that her and Rogers were looking for honeymoon locations as the USB located where the files originated, New Jersey.   
Brock Rumlow and his team attempted to find them but failed to do so.   
On the way out Romanoff made Rogers kiss her to make oncoming STRIKE agents avert their gaze.

 

HYDRA'S PLAN

They stole a car and drove to Camp Lehigh, New Jersey.   
The two talked during the drive including Romanoff asking if the time they kissed in the mall was the first kiss he had since 1945.   
They then arrived at the army camp where Rogers had trained during World War II.   
At first Romanoff thought the base was a dead end due to there being no heat signatures of radio signals, making her believe whoever wrote the files must of used a router to throw people off.   
Rogers then discovered a building which was in the wrong place of the base and they then entered.   
There, they found a secret storage room full of old computers inside an abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. office.   
In there they found a more modern looking USB slot and they put the USB in.   
The computers powered up and someone began to talk to them.

The voice turned out to be Arnim Zola, who told them that he was recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. after World War II and that he helped to rebuild HYDRA, inside S.H.I.E.L.D. In the 1970s, after being told he would soon die, he transferred his mind into a computer.   
He had been working on an algorithm that HYDRA wanted.   
He told them that some of the deaths of S.H.I.E.L.D leaders had been due to HYDRA, showing them a picture of Howard Stark, implying that his death might not have been an accident.   
Romanoff learned Zola was also involved in the Winter Soldier program.   
But before Rogers and Romanoff could get any more information out of Zola, S.H.I.E.L.D stormed in and blew up the base.   
They both survive the blast, however Romanoff was knocked unconscious.

 

SEEKING REFUGE

The next day, Romanoff and Rogers went to seek refuge with Sam Wilson as everyone else they knew was trying to kill them.   
Romanoff told Rogers that when she joined S.H.I.E.L.D. she believed she was going straight instead of just trading the KGB for HYDRA.   
Romanoff then asked Rogers would he trust her if it was up to her to save his life which he told her he trusts her now.   
Wilson then interrupted the two to inform them that he made breakfast which he was unsure if that was something they ate.

Romanoff and Rogers began to question who could launch a domestic missile strike which Rogers figured out it was Alexander Pierce and that Zola's algorithm was onboard the Lemurian Star along with Jasper Sitwell.   
As the two thought how to kidnap a S.H.I.E.L.D. officer as they are the most wanted people in Washington which Wilson suggested that he do it and showed them files of missions that he had been on as well as files on the EXO-7 Falcon suit he used on his missions.   
Wilson told them where they could find one of the EXO-7 Falcon suits and the protection it has, which Romanoff saw as no trouble.

They went back to Washington, D.C. and interrogated Agent Jasper Sitwell who was a HYDRA agent on top of a roof.   
When Sitwell refused to tell them anything, Romanoff kicked him off of the roof as a part of the integration.   
After Romanoff kicked Sitwell, she continued to set Rogers up with some one as Wilson, who was wearing the EXO-7 Falcon suit, caught Sitwell and brought him back to the roof top.   
Sitwell then told them that HYDRA was going to use Project Insight as a weapon to eliminate people who they saw as threats against the world including Bruce Banner and Stephen Strange.

 

RETURN OF THE WINTER SOLDIER

As Romanoff, Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson drove their way to infiltrate the Triskelion, they were interrupted when they were attacked by the Winter Soldier who jumped on their car and threw Jasper Sitwell out, killing him.   
Romanoff went to shoot the Winter Soldier when an incoming car ran into them from behind, causing Romanoff to drop her gun.   
When the Winter Soldier caused the car to crash, Rogers grabbed Romanoff and Wilson and jumped out of the moving car. Romanoff and Wilson found themselves under heavy fire but Romanoff used her Black Widow's Bite to grapple off the bridge.   
As the fire fight continued, Romanoff managed to shot the Winter Soldier in his goggles.   
As the two assassins shot at each other, Romanoff decided to run in hope to escape but the Winter Soldier followed her.

Knowing she could not escape the Winter Soldier, Romanoff distracted him with a radio message on her phone letting her get the jump on him.   
Romanoff and the Winter Soldier engaged in a hand to hand fight.   
Romanoff was able to use her skills as a former spy to use deception and gadgets to gain the upper hand against her opponent.   
After temporarily subduing the Winter Soldier, Romanoff continued to run and telling civilians to leave when was shot in the shoulder.   
Rogers saved her and fought the Winter Soldier himself until his mask was removed revealing himself to be Bucky Barnes.   
Before he could shoot Rogers, Romanoff saved him by firing a grenade launcher, causing him to flee.

 

REUNITING WITH FURY

Eventually, Rogers, Romanoff and Wilson were taken into custody.   
During the drive, Wilson could see the Romanoff needed a doctor as she was losing blood from her gunshot wound.   
The three were rescued by Maria Hill who disguised herself as a HYDRA guard and knocked out another guard.   
Hill took them to a secret facility where an alive Nick Fury shocked Romanoff.   
Romanoff was then taken to a doctor who treated her wound as Fury told them how he faked his death.   
After Romanoff was bandaged up, Hill and Fury revealed that there was a plan in place to stop Project Insight.   
The group decided that in the end of all of it, that S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA had to be eliminated for good.

 

BATTLE AT THE TRISKELION

To stop Project Insight, Romanoff used a Photostatic Veil to disguise herself as Councilwoman Hawley, a World Security Council member.   
As Romanoff stayed with Alexander Pierce, Captain America, along with Falcon and Maria Hill infiltrated the Triskelion and revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised by HYDRA. The council was held hostage by STRIKE who were all HYDRA agents until she took them down and stopped Pierce from executing Singh, thus revealing herself to everyone. Romanoff then began disabling security protocols, releasing all of S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA's secrets onto the Internet.

When the encryption required to be disabled, which needed two Alpha Level members, Romanoff told Pierce that company was coming right as Nick Fury arrived. Fury and Pierce gave their authorisations to release all of the files which Romanoff pointed out that it was trending on the internet.   
Pierce then activated a button on his phone causing all of the council members chests to explode due to their security tags except for Romanoff's.   
As Captain America and Falcon were successful in destroying the Helicarrier's, Romanoff was ordered by Pierce to accompany him, but as he escaped but Romanoff used her Black Widow's Bite to disarm her security tag, knocking herself out and letting Fury shoot Pierce, killing him.   
Fury then checked on the unconscious Romanoff, who came round shortly after.

Romanoff and Fury then piloted the helicopter and flew to Falcon's location, where a Helicarrier was crashing into the side of it.   
They flew the chopper around the northwest corner to catch Falcon who dove out of the window and fell through the chopper but was caught by Romanoff and pulled him up.   
The three then flew away as Romanoff asked Hill if she knew where Captain America was.

 

A NEW START

Romanoff later attended a government inquiry into the HYDRA affair.   
When asked why no one has heard from Steve Rogers, which she believed there was nothing more for him to say due to the wreck in the middle of the Potomac made his point. Romanoff also told them that HYDRA was selling the government lies instead of intelligence which General S. Scudder pointed out that Romanoff was responsible for handing out those lies.   
When it was brought to attention that Romanoff should be arrested, she stated that her and the other agents that fought against HYDRA in the HYDRA Uprising would not be arrested because they are the best qualified to protect the world and then left he inquiry.   
Now that her secrets were revealed to the world, Romanoff needed a new identity.

 

ONE LAST FAVOR

At the personal request of Rogers, Romanoff had contacted some of her acquaintances in Kiev who sent her an old Russian top secret document about the Winter Soldier and his own long history working for HYDRA.   
Later, she stopped by Nick Fury's fake grave, she told Rogers that she wasn't going with Fury nor staying as she had blown all her covers and needed new ones.   
Romanoff gave the document to Rogers and told him to do her a favour and call Sharon Carter and kissed him goodbye.   
Before she left she told Rogers to be careful before digging deeper into finding the Winter Soldier.

A few months later, after Phil Coulson's reorganization of S.H.I.E.L.D., Romanoff called Agent Melinda May.  
A while after S.H.I.E.L.D.'s downfall, Romanoff went back to Russia in hope to find her parents who she barely knows.   
When she got a location, all she found were two graves so she placed some flowers on them.   
Romanoff then returned home accepting to accept what she had when she had it.

 

ATTACK ON THE HYDRA BASE

Their next mission together was to recapture the Scepter from Baron Wolfgang von Strucker's HYDRA Base.   
Romanoff stole a jeep so she and Hawkeye could keep up with the rest of the Avengers as they fought HYDRA soldiers.   
Romanoff crashed the jeep and pursued to fight on foot using her skills and weapons to kill many HYDRA soldiers.   
When Thor pointed out that the Scepter must be at the base at long last, Romanoff said that the long last was lasting a little long.   
When Hawkeye was injured, Romanoff immediately went to aid and told the others that they needed to evacuate.   
When the battle was won, Romanoff watched as the remaining HYDRA soldiers were being apprehended by the Iron Legion.   
Captain America told Romanoff to get to Hulk and calm him down.   
As Romanoff approached Hulk, she took off her gloves and began the lullaby method to calm him down.   
The lullaby worked and it caused Hulk to calm down and transform back into Bruce Banner.

On the way back to Avengers Tower, Romanoff told Banner that the lullaby worked better than ever although he was not expecting the battle to need Hulk.   
Romanoff then told Banner that if he had not of fought than Barton would of been killed.   
Romanoff asked Thor for an assessment of Banner's skills on the battlefield; Thor commented on Hulk's violence having resulted in the deaths of dozens of HYDRA soldiers. Seeing that this upset Banner, Thor told him that many of the injuries he inflicted on the soldiers were nonfatal

 

CELEBRATION

When the Avengers returned from Sokovia, Romanoff stayed by Barton's side while his injured skin was being repaired by Helen Cho using a device called the Cradle.   
Romanoff asked if her friend was going to be ok and she joked that pretending to need him brought the team together.   
Banner explained to Romanoff what the Cradle is and Cho mentioned that Barton's girlfriend wouldn't even be able to notice the difference which Barton told her that he did not have a girlfriend, not mentioning his wife which only he and Romanoff knew about.

Tony Stark organized a party in Avengers Tower to celebrate their victory against Strucker and obtaining the Scepter.   
During the Party, Romanoff talked with James Rhodes and bartended for the guests.   
Romanoff flirted with Bruce Banner, so he would understand that she had feelings for him.   
Romanoff told Banner about how all her friends are fighters except him as he stays out of the fight as he knows he would win.   
Before long many of the guests had departed leaving on the Avengers and a few others.   
As they sat around and drank, Thor invited the Avengers to try and lift Mjølnir.   
Romanoff watched as the Avengers failed at lifting the hammer and when Bruce Banner's turn came, he pretended to turn into Hulk, which none of the others found funny, except Romanoff.   
Banner invited Romanoff to attempt to lift Mjølnir but as she drank her beer, she politely declined claiming that it was a question that she didn't need answering.

 

ULTRON OFFENSIVE - ATTACK ON AVENGERS TOWER

The party was interrupted when one of Tony Stark's Iron Legion made a surprise appearance, and after admitting that it was the result of Stark's Ultron Program mixed with his research into the scepter, it and several more like it, attacked the group.   
Romanoff took cover behind the bar and dragged Bruce Banner in after her causing him to fall on her, which she reminded him to transform into the Hulk.   
She then drew a pistol concealed under the bar to help with the fight.   
She then covered Banner as the two made their way to a safer sort upstairs.   
However, the attack was a diversion, and one of the robots made off with the scepter while the Avengers and their friends were engaged in battle.   
Eventually all the armours were defeated except for the first Iron Legion who announced his intentions to end the Avengers to achieve his idea of peace.

 

ARGUMENT

After the brief fight, the team discussed what had occurred.   
Romanoff said that Ultron had deleted all their files and that he was in the surveillance.   
She also said that he maybe knew about them more they knew about each other.   
Tony Stark admitted his involvement in the creation of Ultron, although he still strongly defended the idea as he believed it was a beneficial plan to save the world.   
Thor, clearly furious at Stark's recklessness, charged in and grabbed Stark by the throat, but Steve Rogers was able to calm him down.

The team later learned that Ultron had sent them a message by murdering Baron Wolfgang von Strucker and leaving the word "peace" written in his blood.   
Together they worked out that Ultron would be going after Vibranium and he would get that from Ulysses Klaue in Johannesburg.

 

BATTLE AT THE SALVAGE YARD

When reports of robots attacking sources of Vibranium began surfacing, the Avengers raced to a coastal scrapyard in Africa, where they found Ultron, along with Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, taking the Vibranium.   
As Iron Man, Captain America and Thor confronted Ultron directly, Black Widow and Hawkeye stayed further back to provide cover.   
As peaceful negotiations quickly failed, Ultron and the Maximoffs attacked, at the same time Klaue sent his soldiers to attack the Avengers.

Romanoff took down many of Klaue's men to protect the rest of the Avengers from attack as they took down the Ultron Sentries, holding her ground until she was eventually restrained.   
Black Widow was knocked unconscious before she could escape, and Klaue's men then turned their attention to Hawkeye, who managed to take them down and clear the area. Romanoff came to shortly after, yet was incapacitated again when Wanda Maximoff snuck up behind Widow whilst she was still dazed, and inflicted a nightmarish vision upon her. Widow languished in a scene from her past while the fight carried on around her and the enemy made their escape.

 

SEEING VISIONS 

In the vision that Wanda had inflicted upon Romanoff, she woke up and relived experiences in the Red Room Academy the place she had grown up in and was trained to be an assassin.   
Romanoff walked down the stairs where she came across Madame B., her former trainer, who commented on Romanoff not being breakable and told her that they will celebrate after the graduation ceremony.   
Romanoff displayed worry of failing but Madame B. assured her she wouldn't.   
Romanoff then shot at a few targets followed by a human who she the executed.

Romanoff proceeded to relive her experiences during her graduation doing some training where she was holding back so she wouldn't have to go through the ceremony.   
Madame B. made it clear that the ceremony was necessary in order for Romanoff to take her place in the world, which she believed she didn't have.   
Romanoff was then sterilized, as to avoid any distractions and focus solely on her missions.

As half of the Avengers were suffering from Wanda Maximoff's nightmares, Iron Man was chasing after Hulk, who had also fallen victim to Wanda's powers and was on a rampage. Iron Man requested Romanoff to give Hulk his lullaby method to calm him down, but Hawkeye informed him that she was not going to be able to help him as she was disoriented by the visions.   
As the Avengers retreated in the Quinjet, Romanoff, along with Steve Rogers, Thor and Bruce Banner remained temporarily scarred by what they saw in the visions. 

 

RETREAT

Still suffering from the effects along with the rest of the team, Romanoff was forced to make a quick escape to the Quinjet not being able to give the Hulk his lullaby.   
Iron Man was then forced to stop the Hulk's current destructive rampage through Johannesburg, as Bruce Banner was also affected by Wanda Maximoff's powers.   
The Avengers become unpopular due to a massive battle between Hulk and Iron Man in his "Hulkbuster" armor in the middle of South Africa; at the same time many of the members were still suffering from the effects of Wanda Maximoff's visions.   
Maria Hill stated that there was no information about Banner's arrest order yet.   
Knowing they needed to get away and recover, Barton flew the team to his homestead, realizing that no one would be able to find them there.

 

BARTON'S HOMESTEAD

The Avengers arrived at Barton's homestead (which Romanoff was aware of) where Barton helped her make her way to the house as she was still haunted by the ghosts of her past. Romanoff's troubles were washed away when she was welcomed by her Barton's wife Laura and their two children who consider her family by calling her "Aunty Nat".   
Romanoff talked with Laura about her pregnancy only to be disappointed when she found out that they baby is a boy and not going to be a "Natasha" but a "Nathaniel".

 

A LIFE WITH BANNER

As Romanoff waited for Banner to get out of the shower, she thought about her visions a dream that she had about being an Avenger.   
When Banner got out, the two talked about their relationship as well as the visions they were shown.   
Romanoff told Banner about the dream she had where she believed she was an Avenger and not an assassin.   
Romanoff suggested that they run away together but it was rejected by Banner as he believed he could not live a normal life like what Barton had both as a threat and not able to have kids.   
Romanoff told him that she was also not able to have kids due to the Red Room's graduation ceremony where she was sterilized to stop her from distractions.   
Believing herself to be a monster like what Banner considers herself, the two then considered to run away

 

FURY'S INSPIRATION 

Nick Fury also arrived at the farm and spoke with the group at length about stopping Ultron.   
While they listened, Romanoff was brought a drawing of a butterfly by Lila Barton.   
Fury went on to inspire the Avengers who had been defeated by Ultron and called Ultron a platinum bastard making Romanoff to continue a running joke between the Avengers about Steve Rogers telling Tony Stark to watch his language.   
While trying to think where Ultron would be, Banner figured out he wanted to evolve by using the cradle.   
Romanoff, Barton and Rogers got ready to leave for Seoul where they believed Ultron would be as he needed to use the cradle

 

BATTLE OF SEOUL

After Banner made the observation that Ultron was trying to evolve, the remaining Avengers split into two groups, with Black Widow joining Captain America and Hawkeye in a bid to stop Ultron obtaining cellular regeneration technology in South Korea.   
The trio raced for their objective, and found that Ultron's plan to create a new android body for itself were already well underway, but the Avengers' arrival caused it to grab the body and flee.   
Hawkeye located Ultron escaping in a truck trailer in heavy traffic, and when a window of opportunity presented itself, Romanoff dropped to the streets on a motorcycle to pursue it herself.   
Romanoff made her way through the city, being guided by Hawkeye to reach Ultron's location.

As she made her way, she noticed Captain America's Shield on the road and picked it up.   
She eventually made her way to their location where Ultron was beating Captain America who she rescued by threw him his shield.   
Romanoff then boarded the truck which became airborne, but she was successful in delivering the dormant android to Hawkeye.   
However, whilst entering the Quinjet, she was knocked out and taken captive by Ultron.

 

ULTRON'S PLANS REVEALED

When she awoke, Romanoff found that she had been transported back to Sokovia, where Ultron made a show of demonstrating his latest upgrade to her.   
He revealed to her his plan, still believing that the Avengers are the problem, before confining her to a cell.   
Romanoff, watching in horror, watches as Ultron destroys his body after building a new and stronger one.   
After he left, she turned to using an old Cold War-era communication technique in a bid to expose her location without being detected, but could do little else but sit and wait.

 

RESCUE

Hawkeye eventually received her signal and revealed it to the rest of the Avengers leading them to fly to Sokovia to defeat Ultron and rescue her.   
As she sat in her cell, Thor destroyed a wall and he and Banner entered to find Romanoff.   
Banner eventually made his way to the cell and freed her by blasting the cell open.   
While Banner wanted to run away with Romanoff, she knew that she had to stay and fight, so after kissing Banner, she pushed him down a hole causing him to transform into the Hulk.   
Romanoff then held onto Hulk as he jumped from Ultron's base to the airborne Sokovia.   
The two made their way onto the country and continued to help the rest of the Avengers fight the fight to stop the A.I

 

BATTLE OF SOKOVIA

Black Widow regrouped with Captain America and asked if Scarlet Witch was wearing her jacket.   
Captain America informed her that she was with them which didn't explain the jacket to her.   
Rogers told them that fighting the robots was getting the nowhere, Hawkeye joined the group and told them that the air is getting thin.   
Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye left and Black Widow asked Rogers what do they do.   
He told her they fight robots as she took out her Batons.   
The Avengers fought hard to break the ranks of Ultron Sentries in Novi Grad.   
Black Widow used her martial arts mastery and weapons, along with her new taser batons, to fight the robots alongside her fellow teammates

 

REINFORCEMENTS

When Iron Man told Captain America that his only solution to save the world from Novi Grad being smashed into it was to destroy Novi Grad itself, Rogers refused to entertain the idea.   
Black Widow however, tried to persuade Steve to consider the option as the world's population would logically take precedence over the people of Novi Grad.   
When Rogers declared he wouldn't leave Novi Grad and its people to their fate, Black Widow told him that she never intended for them to leave and that they would die with the people of Novi Grad if needed.   
She reassured herself and Steve that there are worse ways to die and that at least she'd die seeing a great view.   
Nick Fury interrupted their conversation by saying that Romanoff's view was about to get a lot better.   
Fury revealed his Helicarrier and used it to enact Rogers' plan and evacuate the civilians while War Machine joined the battle.   
Fury sent out a squad of rescue boats to evacuate the citizens while Black Widow and the Avengers ensured no one was left behind.

 

PROTECTING THE KEY

Iron Man then came up with a plan to dispose of Novi Grad and called all the Avengers to the city church where the drill was located.   
Iron Man jokingly told Black Widow that she and Hulk better not be playing "hide the zucchini".   
Black Widow retorted that she was en route slower since she could not fly as she used a bulldozer to run over Ultron Sentries.

The Avengers were tasked with protecting the drill in the church known as the key so that Ultron could not activate it.   
Ultron unleashed his army of Ultron Sentries upon them in a final offensive.   
Black Widow and the Avengers put all their force into destroying the seemingly endless horde of Ultron Sentries, with Black Widow using her guns and Black Widow's Bite to destroy many of the robots.   
After a vicious battle, the Ultron Sentries were eventually pushed back.   
When Ultron attempted to join the fight in his strongest form, the Vision, Iron Man and Thor nearly destroyed him with their combined powers.   
With the battle almost won, Captain America ordered the team to get to a rescue boat and leave the city before Iron Man and Thor destroyed the city.   
Black Widow went with Hawkeye and confiscated a car, making small talk about how to renovate Clint Barton's Homestead during their drive

 

LOSING BANNER

As the battle wound down, Black Widow and Hawkeye turned their attention to evacuating the civilian populace, but soon she received the call to calm Hulk back to his human state. However, the process was interrupted by Ultron, who raked Hulk with gunfire whilst at the controls of the Avengers' own Quinjet, and knocked Natasha out.   
Hulk grabbed Romanoff and bore her to safety on a newly arrived S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, before leaping after Ultron to vent his rage.

Romanoff soon learned that Hulk had beaten Ultron in the departing Quinjet and appealed to him through a video link to disengage the plane's stealth technology, but Hulk simply severed the connection.

 

NEW AVENGERS - THE NEW TEAM

With the Ultron Offensive finished, Romanoff returned to the New Avengers Facility with the rest of her teammates.   
With her plan to run away with Banner having failed, and Banner missing in action, she had nothing else but to remain a superhero.   
She joined Captain America in co-leading the second incarnation of the Avengers, featuring Scarlet Witch, War Machine, Vision and Falcon.

 

ATTACK ON THE IFIF HEADQUARTERS

Romanoff was on a mission in Lagos with fellow Avengers Captain America, Scarlet Witch, and Falcon, where they were waiting to ambush Brock Rumlow.   
Romanoff was sitting at a cafè with Scarlet Witch, observing the area.   
When Redwing scanned a garbage truck, it was revealed to be at maximum capacity; Romanoff realized that the truck was a battering ram.   
The team then moved out to the Institute for Infectious Diseases Building where the truck had gone to.   
As Rumlow escaped the building with his agents, having stolen a dangerous chemical, Romanoff gave chase on a motorcycle.   
She defeated Rumlow's agents with relative ease, but was grabbed by Rumlow himself, her Black Widow's Bite ineffective against his armored suit.   
Rumlow threw Romanoff into a truck containing two of his agents, tossing a grenade inside and closing the roof.   
Romanoff incapactitated the agents and escaped the truck when the grenade blew.

Rumlow gave the chemical to one of his agents and ordered them to split up, letting the Avengers chase them around Lagos.   
While Captain America fought Rumlow, Romanoff and Falcon pursued the agents.   
Romanoff reached the agents and held them at gunpoint; however, one of them threatened to drop the chemical.   
Romanoff killed one of the agents as Falcon's Redwing drone killed the other.   
Romanoff caught the vial before it hit the ground, thanking Falcon as she left the area.   
Though Falcon insisted that she thank the drone, Romanoff refused.   
They battle ended with a blast that accidentally caused by Scarlet Witch, which killed several civilians, including Wakandans.

 

AVENGERS CIVIL WAR -SOKOVIA ACCORDS

While recovering from the the mission at Lagos, the Avengers were presented with the Sokovia Accords by Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross, which would put them under the direct command of a panel of the United Nations.   
Much to the shock of her comrades, Romanoff agreed with Tony Stark and was willing to agree to the terms of the Accords.   
She then called Clint Barton and asked if he would sign the Accords, but he claimed he had retired rather than sign.

On her way to Vienna, where the Accords would be amended, she stopped at Saint Luke's Cathedral, where Steve Rogers had attended the funeral of Peggy Carter.   
He asked her who else had signed the Accords, so she replied that Stark, James Rhodes and Vision had all signed.   
She asked Rogers if he would reconsider his decision to not sign the Accords, saying that the Avengers should stay together regardless of how.   
He, as she expected, still refused and she admitted she was there as a friend to support him as he mourned the loss of Carter.

 

VIENNA CONFRENCE

In the conference at Vienna, Romanoff met the prince of Wakanda, T'Challa, who thanked her for supporting the Sokovia Accords.   
She also met his father, T'Chaka; to him she gave her condolences for the death of the Wakandan citizens in Lagos.   
During the conference, a bomb was activated, killing T'Chaka.   
The authorities suspected that Bucky Barnes was responsible for the bombing from security tapes showing the man responsible.

Outside the building, Romanoff apologized for T'Challa's loss, and promised him that the task force would catch Barnes, but T'Challa said that he would kill Barnes himself.   
Steve Rogers called her and asked if she was fine.   
Romanoff responded positively, and she urged Rogers to stay out of the case with Barnes, or he might make things worse.   
However, Rogers insisted that he should be the one who to bring Barnes in, since he would not die by trying it.   
He hung up the phone, and Romanoff knew he went to defend Barnes.

 

BERLIN

Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, T'Challa and Bucky Barnes were captured by the the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre, and were brought to the agency headquarter in Berlin.   
There, Romanoff told Rogers that what he had done had made things worse.   
During Barnes' psychological assessment, a power failure occurred.   
Barnes freed himself and tried to escape; however, Romanoff, Tony Stark and Sharon Carter engaged him.   
Romanoff was strangled by Barnes but T'Challa saved her in the nick of time.

However, Barnes escaped, but she and Stark knew Barnes was most likely with Rogers, who, along with Wilson, had also escaped custody.   
Thaddeus Ross gave Stark 36 hours to bring them in.   
Stark asked Romanoff if Hulk could assist them, but Romanoff knew that even if he was here, he would probably not be on their side.   
To get the fugitives in time, Romanoff approached T'Challa to ask for his help, promising she would help him find Barnes

 

CLASH OF THE AVENGERS

Black Widow, along with Iron Man, War Machine, Vision, Black Panther, and Spider-Man confronted Captain America at the airport terminal.   
She asked Rogers if he wanted to punch his way out of the situation knowing what was about to happen, but he did not surrender.   
When Falcon found the Quinjet, the rest of Captain America's team ambushed them and the two teams clashed.

Black Widow found herself fighting against Ant-Man who was hesitant to hurt her which she told him not to stress about as he didn't stand a chance against her.   
As the two began to fight fight, Black Widow started to finish him off, but Ant-Man was able to shrink and tried to restrain her.   
However, Black Widow freed herself by shocking him with her bite causing him to be temporarily knocked out.   
Later, Captain America threw a fire truck which was also enlarged by Ant-Man's size-altering disk at Iron Man's team which Black Widow successfully avoided.   
Stark helped her get up and she asked him if fighting was part of his plan, and he responded that he had planned to go easy on Rogers but was now going to change it up.

 

FIGHTING FORMER COMRADES

Iron Man then flew Black Widow across to where the rest of Iron Man's team were and the two teams then faced and ran towards each other while Black Widow pointed out that it wasn't going to end well.   
As the two teams clashed again, Romanoff defeated Ant-Man easily and then proceeded to fight Hawkeye.   
As the two clashed and he threw her to the ground, she asked if they were still friends in the process which Hawkeye confirmed it by telling her it depended on how hard she hit him.   
Black Widow then got the upper hand, before Scarlet Witch knocked her out when she saw that Hawkeye was pulling his punches.

After coming round, Black Widow then made her way to the hangar to guard the Quinjet.   
As Rogers and Barnes made it to the hangar, she stood in the way of them and realized that Rogers was never going to stop so she decided to follow her conscience and trust Rogers.   
She used her Taser Disks to stall Black Panther who was right behind them and was going to apprehend them.   
Rogers and Barnes escaped the airport in the Quinjet just as Black Panther got free from Black Widow's Bite.   
As the two watched Rogers and Barnes fly away, Black Widow told Black Panther that she had said to him that she would help him to find Barnes and not to catch him.

 

ON THE RUN

Moments before the end of the Leipzig battle, James Rhodes crashed on the ground due to Vision's misfire.   
In a hospital, Tony Stark approached Natasha and told her that his spine had been damaged.   
Stark was disappointed at her for her betrayal, claiming that she was still acting as a double agent.   
She replied that they hadn't dealt with Steve Rogers rightfully.   
Stark scoffed at her biases towards Rogers before informing her that T'Challa had told Thaddeus Ross of her betrayal, giving her a halfhearted warning that the government would come to arrest her before denouncing their friendship and commenting that betraying people was the only thing Natasha was good at.   
Insulted, she told him that she was not the one who needed to watch her back, and ran to go underground.

 

ATTACK ON VISION

After receiving a call from Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers along with Falcon and Black Widow, headed down to Edinburgh, Scotland to protect Vision from an incoming threat.   
The three arrived just in time and fended off the Black Order members with great ease.   
They were able to overpower the two and Black Widow even severely injured Corvus Glaive, causing them to retreat.   
They then decided to head back to the Avengers Compound to try to help Vision, who was also severely injured.

 

REUNITING WITH BANNER

Arriving at Avengers Facility, Black Widow and the rest were greeted warmly by James Rhodes.   
Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross, present at the compound via a holographic video call, ordered Rhodes to arrest her, Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and Wanda Maximoff but he disobeyed the order, cutting off the call.   
As Rhodes welcome them back, Bruce Banner emerged, having been missing for over two years.   
Black Widow greeted Bruce, to which he replied "Nat." Wilson commented that the meeting was awkward.

 

BATTLE OF WAKANDA

Alongside the Avengers, Black Widow travelled to Wakanda in an attempt to keep the Mind Stone out of Thanos' hands.   
Thanos' army attempted to breach Wakanda's shield but were repulsed, forcing them to land outside the shield perimeter.   
Assembling the Avengers and the Wakandan military in a force to oppose them, Black Widow joined Steve Rogers and T'Challa in talking to Proxima Midnight and Cull Obsidian at the shield boundary.   
Black Widow inquired where Corvus Glaive was; Midnight intimated that he was dead.

During the battle, Black Widow and Okoye faced off against Midnight in combat after she attempted to kill Scarlet Witch.   
As they fought, Scarlet Witch used her powers to launch Midnight into the path of one of Thanos' war machines, killing her.   
Once Thanos finally arrived on Earth, Black Widow tried to stop him from obtaining the Mind Stone but found that she and her allies were hopelessly outmatched by Thanos's use of the Infinity Gauntlet and Black Widow was the third last hero to be taken out, with Thanos using the Reality Stone to spawn cages of solid rock to trap her.   
As Thanos united the six Infinity Stones, he snapped his fingers and wiped out half of the life in the universe.   
Black Widow was one of the survivors of the genocide and had freed herself from Thanos's prison as she and her remaining allies could do nothing but accept their defeat.

 

COMIC EXTRAS  
So this is basically a part where I'll add in bits from the comics that are intresting in their lives that they don't show in the movies, some of it is relevant to the movies and some of it isn't but I hope you enjoy!

BIG PROBLEMS   
so I actually think that nat had met bruce before avengers assemble but bruce doesn't remember it because he was obviously hulk for the whole time, so maybe thats why she came prepared when she met him for the first time on the edge of the city. I added this in because I think this is their first non official meeting

Returning to S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters with the data, she was given orders by a stressed Nick Fury to go to Culver University and watch over Bruce Banner.   
She arrived and witnessed Banner get locked in the bridge by General Thaddeus Ross and the Strategic Operations Command Center; Banner then transformed and a battle ensued.  
She called Fury and barely escaped uninjured.   
She revealed to Fury that she witnessed Emil Blonsky in action against Hulk and that they enhanced him.  
Fury was forced to deploy Romanoff to Grayburn College after Ross revealed, in a short conversation, that he intended to capture Banner.   
She arrived too late, however, and informed Fury over the phone that Ross captured Banner and was taking him away in a helicopter.

Romanoff was then ordered to make sure that Banner did not leave anything for Samuel Sterns, with whom he had recently been, to work on.   
As she headed up the front steps, she witnessed Blonsky, now as Abomination, emerge from the building.   
She was buried in rubble, but still managed to make her way upstairs.   
She stumbled upon Sterns, whose mutation had heightened significantly, and his brain power had been augmented exponentially.  
After a brief dialogue with him, during which Sterns identified Black Widow's birth place from a hint of accent in her voice, Romanoff shot him in the leg.

She called in a S.H.I.E.L.D. cleanup team, and signaled her location on the roof with flares.   
She saw the chaos of Abomination and Hulk's battle in the distance.   
Back at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, she confronted Fury, stating that all of the events going on were too much to handle.

 

SECURITY ON THE HELICARRIER

Ignorant that Nick Fury had ordered Hawkeye to check the security of the Avengers Initiative database, Black Widow attacked Barton when he infiltrated the Helicarrier while wearing a mask.   
Fury arrived and stopped the scuffle; the three then discussed Fury's choices for the Avengers.

 

BACK IN RUSSIA  
One of Nats more intresting missions 

Once again on a mission, Black Widow arrived in Moscow, Russia, where she searched for missing Stark Industries technology.   
Disguised as Tatiana Sokolova, she worked at a night club.   
While trying to interrogate Mikhail Fjodorov, one of the world's most successful illegal arms dealers, Fjodorov was killed by an unknown woman and Romanoff was forced to leave the club via the roof, fighting several security men.   
After she returned to a hotel, she was attacked by a team of masked mercenaries, but she defeated them and received a SIM card to reach the mysterious woman she has seen in the night club.   
Later, Black Widow talked to the woman named Sofia, and learned that she is a "fan" and wants to take over the name "Black Widow".   
Romanoff agreed to meet with Sofia and broke all her contacts with S.H.I.E.L.D.

A few days later, Romanoff confronted Sofia in a sport hall in Sochi, where she almost drowned in cold water, but she was saved at the last moment by Phil Coulson, who was following a pair of goons working for the arms dealer General Starodoub.   
Coulson gave Romanoff the necessary equipment to infiltrate the yacht belonging to Yuri Klementiev, one of General Starodoub's business partners, where she met Sofia again, an encounter which cost them the life of agent Gennady Markov.

When Coulson discovered that Sofia's employer was the billionaire Richard Frampton, Natasha infiltrated his headquarters in Vladivostok.   
She discovered that Frampton works for the Ten Rings terrorist organization and that he had made a Jericho missile that would explode near the border between Russia and North Korea, greatly destabilizing the world peace.   
Romanoff infiltrated the launching area and destroyed the missile.   
Both Frampton and Sofia were killed in the explosion.

 

AFTER NEW YORK  
This is just a thing to show how captain america and black widow's friendship grew off camera

After participating in the Battle of New York, Romanoff became partners with Captain America and they ran many operations together.   
One such operation occurred upon the theft of the Zodiac weapon from S.H.I.E.L.D.

Romanoff infiltrated the terrorist cell of a man named "Baker" using the alias "Audrey".   
Posing as Audrey, she spent several weeks undercover determining what Baker's plan for Zodiac was.

Upon discovering Baker's plan to release the Zodiac in the Willis Tower in Chicago during the height of the day, killing all within, Romanoff alerted Captain America.

Romanoff, Rogers and Agent Brock Rumlow confronted Baker's cell in the Skydeck of Willis Tower, and after a brief combat, subdued the terrorists, and recovered the Zodiac.

 

BROOKYLN  
idk I just thought that this was really cute that steve got to show nat around where he grew up, it shows how they really did become good friends 

After receiving intel that Nobel prize winning scientist Sana Amanat was going to be abducted. S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury dispatched Romanoff and Steve Rogers to Rogers' old Brooklyn neighborhood on protection detail.

Under the guise of Rogers showing Romanoff the places that he grew up, they managed to draw out the Cadre mercenaries that had set up in multiple locations throughout the neighborhood.   
Tracing the mercenary that had abducted Amanat through a maze of alleyways, Cap succeeded in taking out the last mercenary with a little help from Amanat herself

 

AVENGERS REASSEMBLED - FIGHTING HYDRA

With the rising threat of HYDRA, the Avengers team was officially reassembled, with the financial backing of Tony Stark.   
Using the former Stark Tower, now renamed Avengers Tower, as their headquarters, they embarked on several missions to thwart HYDRA's plans for world domination.

Romanoff was in Sudan when she hijacked a plane carrying HYDRA operatives meeting with Doctor Jensen who had perfected a weapon using Chitauri technology.   
Finding a platoon of armed soldiers there, Romanoff had J.A.R.V.I.S. assemble the Avengers to provide her with assistance.   
Ultimately, the Avengers and Romanoff defeated HYDRA and Jensen and destroyed her weapon.

 

AMBUSH ON THE CHITUARI NUCLEAR WEAPON SHIPMENT  
This just kind of fills in the gaps of what sam, steve and nat did when they were exiled from america after the events of civil war, I would totally watch a movie of those three fighting cime together

Months later from going on the run, Romanoff, joined up with Rogers, Wilson and Maximoff who were all on the run.   
They decided to keep hidden and not draw any attention to themselves, which they warned to Maximoff who decided to meet up with Vision.   
The three still wanted to help out and take down any enemies, so she used her KGB contacts to track down a terrorist organization supplied with Chitauri fuelled weapons in Syria. Infiltrating the terrorists, Rogers, Wilson and Romanoff disabled the weapons and then left for Lebanon.

 

PERSONALITY

The entirety of Romanoff's character is hard to distinguish based on how she lies and tricks people for a living.   
She is capable of convincingly portraying friendly and flirtatious, timid, vulnerable and scared.   
For the most part, she is a level-headed, strong-willed and independent woman.   
Romanoff normally maintains a controlled, almost emotionless persona to keep whatever she is thinking a secret unless she is around people she absolutely trusts.   
Although she is more than willing to rush into deadly battle and other unnerving missions for S.H.I.E.L.D., she is not completely fearless, as she was visibly frightened of Hulk. However, she is no longer afraid of him due to falling in love with Bruce Banner.

Though a very serious agent, Romanoff is by no means stuffy and has a sarcastic sense of humor, which mostly surfaces when she is with Captain America or Hawkeye, both of whom she is comfortable around.   
Romanoff is very smart and loyal which is displayed when she made good on the debts she owed Barton and Rogers (saving the former from Loki's mind control and trying to protect the latter during a highway assault).   
While tough and at times ruthless, she is still a good person and can be quite heroic in her own right.   
These qualities are usually brought out by her other Avengers, mainly her missions with Steve Rogers.   
And no matter how injured she is in battle, Romanoff will go out her way to make sure bystanders are out of harm's way (keeping several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents away when Banner was transforming into Hulk, helping Hawkeye evacuate civilians when the Chitauri attacked Manhattan, and risking her life to make sure innocent people weren't shot by the Winter Soldier when he was chasing her).   
Her close loyalty to both Rogers and Barton was shown in the Avengers Civil War, as she was willing to aid their faction despite being forced to go on the run from the United Nations afterwards.   
As a result of her childhood, she considered the Avengers her family, being desperate to keep them together when the Sokovia Accords were due to be signed, and was affected when Tony Stark denounced her as a friend and made it clear he would not help her in the future.

Romanoff is also very close with Clint Barton's family, especially with his and Laura Barton's only daughter, Lila, being the only member of Avengers who knew of their existence. Romanoff is genuinely affectionate with the child, hugging her the moment they reunite and sweetly commended the little girl on the drawing she made.   
They originally named their youngest child after Romanoff prior to them discovering that it was in fact a boy, thus naming him Nathaniel instead, with Romanoff humorously referring to the unborn child as a "traitor".

Romanoff was sterilized as a rite-of-passage for her graduation from the training she underwent in the Red Room.   
This event deeply affected her, as she regretfully told Banner of the so-called advantages of the procedure.

Despite her lifestyle of espionage and operating within the shadows, Romanoff's adaptability influenced her opinions on the Sokovia Accords.   
Realizing the difference between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers with many of their activities seen in the light of day amongst the public, Romanoff wanted to appease public opinions by signing and also that she didn't want conflict with her close friends and teammates like Barton and Rogers.   
This care for Captain America eventually caused Romanoff to betray Stark's team and assist their escape so they could clear Barnes name, eventually becoming a fugitive because of this.

 

ABILITIES

Natasha Romanoff is one of the most talented spies and lethal assassins in the world, being said by her instructor Madame B. to be the best student in the Red Room, never failing a single test.   
Both the KGB and S.H.I.E.L.D. considered her as one of their most dangerous operatives.   
Highly skilled in martial arts and hand to hand combat, she also possesses computer hacking skills and training in psychology.   
Romanoff's extraordinary skill-set has made her a core member of the Avengers, despite not being applied to the initiative.

-master spy  
-Master Martial Artist  
-Master Acrobat  
-Master Assassin  
-Expert Markswoman  
-Multilingualism  
-Gifted Intellect  
-Master Interrogator  
-Expert Hacker  
-pilot

 

EQUIPMENT - WEAPONS

-Black Widow's Bite  
-Black Widow's Batons  
-Makarov PM  
-Walther PPK/S  
-Heckler & Koch USP Compact  
-Glock 26  
-Glock 19  
-Glock 17  
-Colt M4A1 with a M203 Grenade Launcher  
-Chitauri Staff

 

UNIFORM

-S.H.I.E.L.D. Uniform: Black Widow's first uniform was a bluish-black catsuit. It zipped up the front and had fingerless gloves with a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the shoulders. It had two belts one of which had a red hourglass symbol on it and the other had lots of different pouches. It also had a thigh holster.  
-Avengers Uniform: Her second uniform was a slightly modified version of her earlier one. It was now grey and seems to be made out of a different material. The red hourglass was brighter and the belts were slightly different. The only major difference was the inclusion of built in wrist tasers.  
-Stealth Uniform: Her third uniform was worn while working on S.H.I.E.L.D. missions with Captain America. Her uniform became black with gray webbing, a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on her right shoulder and her trademark red hourglass over her stomach. It also features her Widow's Bite, a utility belt, and two thigh holsters.  
The Fourth Uniform: The fourth uniform worn by Black Widow was similar to her second. She wore a black suit with black padding at the shoulders, knees, and elbows. Her suit also contained a more powerful version of her Black Widow's Bite which when used caused piping on the suit to light up. She also wore a thigh-holster on her left leg.  
The Fifth Uniform: The fifth uniform is much sleeker then the previous version. Her suit is not leather, but a more tactical stretch cordura rather than the usual printed stretch fabrics used, although there is some of that in strategic places for mobility. Has a more cat-suit feel to it, closer to to the comics.

 

OTHER EQUIPMENT

-taser disks  
-flash bombs  
-garrote  
-pepper spray  
-Miniaturized Smoke Grenades  
-Glider Harness  
-Grappling Hook Gun  
-Photostatic Veil

 

TRIVIA

-In the comics, Black Widow is the product of a Soviet Super Soldier experiment, and has had relationships with Bucky Barnes, Daredevil, Tony Stark and Hawkeye.  
-In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Black Widow wore a necklace with an arrow pendant as a symbol of her friendship with Hawkeye.  
-Black Widow shares her birthday with her actress, Scarlett Johansson.  
-Black Widow is mentioned in the non-canon video game Iron Man. While battling Maggia forces in Afghanistan, Tony Stark comments that he may be able to make it for his date with Ms. Romanoff after all.  
-Black Widow has had a different hairstyle in each of her film appearances so far, one per movie.  
-According to Sam Koenig, Black Widow is the subject to a large amount of "steamy" internet FanFiction. Some even alongside Quake their relationship being informally called Quack.  
-Black Widow dying her hair blonde in Avengers: Infinity War is an homage to the second Black Widow, Yelena Belova.

 

BEHIND THE SCENES

-Scarlett Johansson was pregnant during the filming of Avengers: Age of Ultron, so many of her scenes were scheduled early in filming before she began to show. To help hide her pregnancy later in filming, three stunt doubles were hired. This caused quite a bit of confusion among the other actors since, according to them, all of the stunt women looked very similar to Johansson. Chris Evans stated that it got to the point where he would say hello and start a conversation with one of them, only to realize that the person he was talking to was not Johansson. Ultimately, some scenes used CGI to hide Johansson's pregnancy  
-The role of Black Widow was originally offered to Emily Blunt but she turned it down.  
-Before given the role of Black Widow in Iron Man 2, Johansson dyed her hair red as she wanted the role badly.  
-Gemma Arterton, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Natalie Portman, Eliza Dushku, and Angelina Jolie were also considered for the role. Natalie Portman would later play Jane Foster in the Marvel films Thor and Thor: The Dark World.  
-Black Widow is the most frequently discussed candidate in the MCU to get a solo movie, Kevin Feige had stated in an interview that he and Marvel Studios were "committing" to the idea of a Black Widow movie. When asked by MTV about a potential movie revolving around the character Scarlett Johansson (the actress of Black Widow) stated that she and Feige agree that the character is "right for a standalone" though however the only issue noted was "timing" and that she doesn't know if she has the capacity to do it but still she said that "it could be done, it should be done".  
-According to her S.H.I.E.L.D. file, Black Widow can speak English, Russian, Italian, Latin, German, French, Mandarin, Kashmiri, and more.  
-Due to the heat and uncomfortableness of her catsuit, Scarlett Johansson didn't wear any underwear while filming scenes for The Avengers.


	11. Justin Hammer

JUSTIN HAMMER

Justin Hammer is the former CEO of Hammer Industries who had formed a strong rivalry with Stark Industries.   
Seeking to improve his own position and attack Tony Stark, Hammer worked alongside Senator Stern and attempted to damage the public's own view of Stark, however this backfired and Hammer's own public image was highly damaged.   
Furious at Stark for this failure, Hammer recruited Ivan Vanko, a convicted terrorist, to attempt to replicate Stark's Arc Reactor technology, but this backfired as well when Vanko betrayed Hammer, leading into Hammer being incarcerated inside Seagate Prison for his involvement in Vanko's actions.

 

BIOGRAPHY - CHALLENGING IRON MAN  
AERODYNAMIC MARVEL

In an attempt to discredit Tony Stark's Iron Man, Thaddeus Ross soon hired Justin Hammer to develop a single pilot close-quarter combat vehicle with full protection and attack capabilities.   
Soon, both Hammer and Ross presented the vehicle to Senator Stern in Washington, D.C. and James Rhodes.   
However, despite Hammer's claims that the vehicle was not vulnerable to surface-to-air attacks, the Congolese Army was able to shoot the plane down during its first mission, leaving the pilot alone in hostile territory, leading to Stark being sent in to successfully rescue the pilot.

 

RECREATING THE IRON MAN SUIT

As Iron Man continued to gain in popularity, Justin Hammer again attempted to discredit him by secretly focusing Hammer Industries' resources into building their own version of the Iron Man suit with a new Arc Reactor, which was something many of governments were attempting to do.   
The prototypes were unsuccessful however and during one test flight the suit malfunctioned, twisting the pilot's body and seriously damaging his spine, although he managed to survive the incident.

 

MEETING WITH THE SENATOR

Hammer was called as an expert to prove that Tony Stark's ego and his monopoly on his Iron Man armor was now a danger for the United States of America, as part of Senator Stern's attempt to force Stark to give the Iron Man suit technology to the government.   
Hammer argued that all Stark's efforts as the Iron Man were not good enough to protect the world, noting that due to the creation of Iron Man, there would be threats which Stark would not be able to foresee, claiming Stark keeping the armor was selfish and dangerous.

Hammer then took his seat as James Rhodes was called to the stand and asked to read out sections on his reports on Iron Man, in Stern's attempt to discredit Stark with his own friend's words.   
As Hammer remained silent and confident, Stern attempted to prove his point as he showed the many attempts by America's enemies to replicate Iron Man's armor, claiming the technology should be in the government's hands, while under Hammer Industries' close supervision.

However, Hammer was then humiliated by Stark, who proceeded to use J.A.R.V.I.S. to hack the screens and showed Hammer attempting to also recreate the Arc Reactor and armor technology, but ending up injuring the pilot's spine.   
Hammer tried to save face by confirming the pilot's survival but Stark won the case and confidently walked out of Washington, D.C..  
After his public humiliation, Hammer's weapons contract with the United States Armed Forces was suspended.

 

DUEL OFMONACO

Later, Justin Hammer met with Tony Stark and Pepper Potts again as they were both in Monaco, where both of them were supporting one of the cars involved in the upcoming race. Hammer had come to the race with Christine Everhart, a journalist who was flirting with him for having some scoops about the new current status of his own company, Hammer Industries and an interview for her magazine, Vanity Fair, however before the interview started she was told by Stark that Hammer lost his own contract with the United States Armed Forces, forcing Hammer to then defend his companies' future.

As Hammer's interview with Everhart went underway, he attempted to claim that Stark's comments were merely playful banter between the pair and that Hammer Industries and Stark Industries were still continuing a close relationship.   
They noticed on the television that Stark had taken control of his own car and decided to race it himself.   
This led to Everhart quickly making excuses and leaving the interview to follow up this story instead, much to Hammer's annoyance.

Having been left alone, Hammer then watched the race unfold and witnessed the terrorist, Ivan Vanko, step onto the track with his own weaponized armor complete with electrified whips and attempt to assassinate Stark by cutting his car in half and causing it to crash.   
While most people around him watched in horror as Stark battled against Whiplash, Hammer studied the terrorist's technology closely to try and understand how it had been made by Vanko.

Stark survived the attack when Happy Hogan had successfully driven onto the track and given him his Mark V Armor and Vanko was then arrested, but Hammer saw an opportunity in finding someone who had successfully made a new Arc Reactor powered suit, considering how to build his own Hammer Armors.   
While Vanko was being taken away into custody, Hammer immediately began making calls in order to arrange his escape from prison so they could meet.

 

WORKING WITH IVAN VANKO - ORGANISING A PRISON BREAK

Hammer had Ivan Vanko freed from prison and his death to be faked before he took him to his personal secret storage facility where they could talk in private.   
Once Vanko was taken out of the van he had been taken in, Hammer greeted him with a table filled with dinner and smiled upon his arrival, telling the guards to remove his handcuffs as a sign of friendship before inviting Vanko to sit down with him and eat dinner.

While Vanko remained confused as to why he had now been brought there, while Hammer explained that Hammer Industries would like to do business with him.   
While Vanko tried to understand why Hammer had brought him there Hammer explained that upon seeing all that Vanko had done to Tony Stark during the recent Duel of Monaco, he had become impressed and wanted to take advantage of Vanko's talents at outdoing Stark's own Arc Reactor technology.

Vanko showed he was interested as Hammer explained to Vanko that he had to build for him many armors so advanced that Iron Man's would become old news.   
Vanko agreed, although there was a brief moment when Hammer believed that Vanko only spoke Russian which he then explained he did not.   
Vanko agreed to do all this for Hammer as long as Hammer arranged to have his pet bird flown in from Russia, which Hammer then agreed to do for him

 

RECRUITING IVAN VANKO

As they toured the Hammer Industries Headquarters, Hammer then proudly showed off all of his Hammer Armors to Ivan Vanko.   
Vanko examined all the prototype suits, pulling the head off one to examine the inside, much to Hammer's horror when he considered the cost of that prototype.   
Vanko then hacked into the facilities' own security systems with little effort and even called all of it shit.

As Vanko asked him what exactly he wanted, Hammer explained that he wanted to finally make Tony Stark irrelevant in the modern age of weapons, so Hammer Industries could then take over as the key weapons supplier for all of the United States Armed Forces and take over from Stark Industries.   
Vanko seemed to agree with Hammer's plans and agreed to do the work to improve his technology so that Stark and his own company could lose their credibility.

 

IVAN VANKO'S IDEAS

Over the next few days Ivan Vanko worked tirelessly inside Hammer Industries Headquarterson designing the newest suits for Hammer, as a reward Hammer then brought in a bird, claiming it to be Vanko's own from Russia.   
However after only examining the new bird for just a moment, Vanko noted that this was not his own bird but a new bird, which Hammer was forced to admit was the case.

When Hammer noticed that his armors had now been redesigned, he told Jack to try to wear the suit to demonstrate that it was no longer wearable which did not seem to bother Vanko.   
Remaining confident, Vanko told Hammer that building the new Hammer Drones was the best choice, and convinced him that drones were better than armors as people made problems.   
Hammer believed Vanko's claims, but he did not realize Vanko was making them for his purposes.

 

UPGRADING WAR MACHINE

Hammer was contacted by Meade, a General of the United States Air Force, who had just recently received Tony Stark's own Mark II Armor as he had been taken into the custody of the United States Air Force by James Rhodes.   
Seeking to upgrade the armor for the military, Meade had summoned Hammer to Edwards Air Force Base to improve and weaponize the suit, much to the utter delight of Hammer who came straight there to make the deal in order to see the suit.

Taking great delight at the chance to personally design the new War Machine Armor, Hammer then proceeded to demonstrate all of the weapons he would use in order to weaponize the armor with the best of the weapons produced by Hammer Industries.   
Seeing that Rhodes and Meade were not overly impressed by the machine guns he was showing off, which even included a mini-gun, Hammer eventually showed them the Ex-Wife Missile which he had described as strong enough to destroy even the strongest enemy bunker with a single strike, believing this would be enough to win him the job to work on and redesign one of Iron Man's armors with his technology.

Having shown off every weapon that Hammer Industries had to offer, Hammer turned to Rhodes and simply asked what he was thinking, noting that he could not get any read of Rhodes' facial expression.   
However Rhodes noted he would take not just some of the weapons but all of them, leading to Hammer creating Mark I Armor, which he intended to introduce the Hammer Drones at the Stark Expo during his upcoming showcase of all of his newest technology.

 

FALL FROM GRACE - BETRAYED BY VANKO

While playing another round of golf with Senator Stern, Hammer was contacted by Ivan Vanko with an update on the design of the new Hammer Drones, wanting to know what they would be capable of doing at the Stark Expo presentation.   
Vanko informed him that he he would only be able to make them salute and not fire their weapons, much to Hammer's dismay as he needed something better.

Furious about having been lied to and let down by Vanko, Hammer stormed into the Hammer Industries Headquarters and straight into Vanko's room where he found Vanko relaxing with the bird Hammer had given him.   
Hammer confronted Vanko with two security guards, ordering his men to take Vanko's bird, shoes and pillow away from him to demonstrate how it felt to have his things stolen from you, all while Vanko remained calm and silent as Hammer yelled.

Having made him suitably uncomfortable, Hammer then told Vanko that he was now heading onto the Stark Expo to demonstrate the Hammer Drones and a new War Machine Armor as well, and when Vanko spoke back to him in Russian, Hammer just yelled again about him not understanding what Vanko was now saying.   
Hammer then confidently left Vanko with his guards to watch over him, leaving for the Expo Demonstration, hoping to have sex while there.

 

BATTLE AT STARK EXPO

As Hammer attended the Stark Expo, he stepped onto the stage with a brief and goofy introduction where confidently he danced on stage to music, trying to one-up Tony Stark's own presentation a few months earlier.   
Hammer told the audience how the Iron Man technology had failed to save all the lives on their soldiers overseas, promising he had the solution for saving thousands of American lives.

Promising to present the newspapers with an even more impressive story, Hammer proudly showed off all the newest technology from Hammer Industries as all of the Hammer Drones were presented to the audience.   
Hammer explained how the Drones could be used by all of the branches of the United States Armed Forces in order to replace the soldiers on the ground as well as in the navy, air force and marines.   
As the audience cheered and clapped for the drones, Hammer became even more confident as he began charging around the stage to present the drones as they rose onto the stage.

Finally Hammer explained that he would always have a key role for a human at the command of his new army of Hammer Drones and then presented the War Machine Armor, while also introducing Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes as the pilot of the armor.   
With his drones and the War Machine on stage, Hammer gave a salute which was greeted by one in return from all of the Drones, as promised, while Hammer vowed that his drones would protect the American people.

The demonstration was interrupted by Iron Man, who has discovered that Hammer was working with Ivan Vanko.   
Hammer initially tried to play off the situation and nervously deny all knowledge of Vanko's survival, but Vanko remotely took control of the Hammer Drones and of War Machine's armor, starting a massive attack on the Expo.   
As the attack started Hammer dived to safety off the stage as his drones fired upon the audience causing a large battle to unfold.

 

ARRESTED BY THE FBI

While Iron Man defended himself from the attack during the Battle at Stark Expo, Hammer sought to right his wrongs and come out better from the attack, so he attempted to have all of his technicians regain control of all the Hammer Drones as well as the War Machine Armor, finding that the pass-codes had now been changed so they were locked out of the system and unable to shut down the drones, so Hammer suggested that they try entering the codes in Russian to find the right answer.

Hammer's attempts to resolve the situation were soon halted by the arrival of both Pepper Potts and Natasha Romanoff, whom Hammer demanded leave so his men could continue their work.   
As Hammer was refusing to help, Romanoff took the matter into her own hands, pinning Hammer down and forced him to reveal Ivan Vanko's location at the Hammer Industries Headquarters by slamming his head onto the table and twisting his arm painfully backwards.

While Romanoff and Happy Hogan went to confront Vanko, Potts in turn called the police and had Hammer arrested for his complicity with Vanko.   
As he was taken away, Hammer assured her that this was no problem for him and he would be back and vowed revenge against both Tony Stark and Potts.   
While Hammer was taken into custody, his Hammer Drones were destroyed and Vanko was killed during his final battle against Iron Man and War Machine.

 

LIFE IN SEAGATE PRISON

Justin Hammer was sent to Seagate Prison after being arrested at the Stark Expo.  
His stay at Seagate prison was kept a secret from a part of the inmate population, though rumors still persisted of a millionaire residing somewhere within Seagate by the time of Carl Lucas's prison sentence.  
While being interviewed for a documentary, Hammer, who had apparently developed a relationship with a much younger man, stated that he resented Trevor Slattery and felt that he should be more recognized.   
During the interview, his partner made a gesture to him which he dismissed.   
At the same time, he was reading a Forbes magazine with Pepper Potts featured on the cover.

 

PERSONALITY

Justin Hammer is a self-centered businessman and rival to Tony Stark.   
Whilst overconfident, Hammer is also incompetent in terms of the quality of his technology, some of which are faulty altogether and even dangerous to the user, such as an attempt to replicate Stark's Iron Man Armor results in the injury of the pilot, the outdated software at Hammer Industries described as "shit" by Ivan Vanko and the Ex-Wife Missile, despite selling it as a weapon of mass destruction, does not even scratch Vanko's Whiplash Armor Mark II.  
Following the repeated media attention being distracted from Hammer Industries to Stark, especially since the reveal of Iron Man's identity and his subsequent humiliation, Hammer began engaging in legally dubious activities to finally gain the upper hand over Stark, even breaking the terrorist Ivan Vanko out of prison and getting him to assist Hammer.   
Though a self-proclaimed businessman, Justin Hammer seems to be without his own original ideas such as creating a Hammer Expo, a few months after Stark's own Expo, and lining it with drones (but Hammer initially asked for suits instead) and selling the War Machine Suit as his own, despite it being granted to him by Rhodes from Stark Industries. Hammer is also willing to endure repeated insults to himself and his company for a period of time for the greater good of matters, as he does with Vanko. However, when pushed to the edge, Hammer can undergo furious, almost temper-traumatic rants against an individual who wronged him.

 

ABILITIES

-Expert Engineer  
-Expert Businessman

 

JUSTIN HAMMER DESIGNS

-Aerodynamic Marvel  
-Hammer Drones  
-Sidewinder "Ex-Wife" Missile  
-Battle Tank

 

TRIVIA

-In the comics, Justin Hammer is much older and more cynical than his movie counterpart, and his hatred of Tony Stark is much more apparent. The reason for this change was to create a more anti-Tony Stark-type character by having him around the same age.  
-In early storyboards, Hammer is killed by War Machine while he was controlled by Whiplash.  
-Following the end of All Hail the King, Justin Hammer is retroactively revealed to be the first male gay character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.


	12. Nick Fury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SPOILERS for avengers infinity war

NICK FURY

Colonel Nicholas "Nick" Joseph Fury was a former officer of the United States Army and an espionage veteran of the CIA during the Cold War.   
He joined S.H.I.E.L.D., a covert international peacekeeping organization which operates as humanity's first line of defense against Earth's most dangerous enemies.   
He quickly impressed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s higher-ups, and was promoted to the position of Director, becoming the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. He led S.H.I.E.L.D. for years, spearheading the Avengers Initiative, Project T.A.H.I.T.I., Project Insight, and other operations.

Preceding the HYDRA Uprising, an assassination attempt was made on his life.   
Fury survived but elected to remain officially dead, telling only a select few that he was still alive.   
After the attack on the Triskelion, he went deep underground to begin rooting out the forces of HYDRA.   
As a part of this mission, he joined Phil Coulson and helped him and his team defeat John Garrett.   
Afterwards, he made Coulson the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and left to continue his mission.   
He helped the Avengers defeat Ultron in the Battle of Sokovia and later assisted them in the New Avengers Facility.

Fury was killed along with Maria Hill and fifty percent of the universe, when Thanos invaded Earth and completed the Infinity Gauntlet.   
However, Fury managed to send a message to Captain Marvel before he died.

 

BIOGRAPHY - EARLY LIFE  
MILITARY ACTIONS

In his youth, Nick Fury joined the United States Army, obtaining the rank of Colonel before leaving the military.   
By the 1970s, Fury had a lot of action in Soviet territory.   
He was responsible for deporting Vinorovsky when he tried to sell bad information during the Cold War.

Some months later, Fury partook a fake mission to uncover a mole inside the CIA.   
Partnered with Escobar they were sent on a mission to Budapest to meet Comrade Verliecki.   
While there he encountered Vinorovsky who attempted to attack him in the nightclub; unable to beat him, Vinorovsky sent Soviet forces after Fury.   
On their way, Fury explained to Escobar their mission: their contact would hand them dossiers of 12 undercover CIA operatives in Soviet Union.

Inside Verliecki's apartment, Fury pretended to fight with and knock out Verliecki.   
Suddenly, Escobar revealed his true colors and pointed his gun at Fury, ordering him to hand over the case.   
He told Fury to not take it personally, as it had nothing to do with him, but for the end of the Cold War.   
Fury attacked and defeated him, and then Verliecki knocked Escobar out.

Verliecki told Fury that he filled it with cigars for him, as it been a long time since they sparred.   
Verliecki asked Fury if he was okay, and Fury simply replied that he could not hurt him if he tried; Verliecki said that he tried.   
The Soviet authorities found Escobar tied to a chair with a fake CIA ID identifying him as Nick Fury, framing him of Fury's previous actions in Soviet territory.

Fury left and called Timothy Dugan who asked Escobar's status; Fury stated that he flipped. With the mole gone, Dugan stated that it was time to celebrate.   
Fury told him not to start without him, as he was bringing cigars. 

 

S.H.I.E.L.D

Fury's extraordinary military and espionage skills won him the invitation to join the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, an international peacekeeping organization led by Alexander Pierce, during the 1980s.   
For many years, Fury served as one of the agency's best agents, eventually becoming Deputy Chief of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Bogotá Station.   
When Colombian National Libertation Army rebels took several political officers hostage, including Pierce's daughter, from the Embassy there, Fury proposed a plan to get the hostages out, but Pierce insisted to negotiate with the rebels.   
However, he disobeyed Pierce's orders and got the hostages out.  
For his actions, Fury was promoted to director when Pierce gave up his position to become a member of the World Security Council.

As Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury searched for various mysterious and dangerous artifacts, such as the Darkhold, a book that was said to contain infinite knowledge and also being searched for by HYDRA, leading Fury to be afraid of what the book's power could do in wrong hands.  
After putting his trust in someone, Fury was injured in his left eye, and took to wearing an eye patch over his blind eye.  
Fury also oversaw the training of agents Phil Coulson and John Garrett as their Supervising Officer.

Fury found the most talented archer in the world, Clint Barton, who had never missed.   
Fury hired Barton into S.H.I.E.L.D. when Barton was young and helped him set up a safehouse where he could live with his wife, Laura  
In 1998, Fury sent Barton on a mission to eliminate a young Russian assassin codenamed Black Widow.   
Barton found her, but instead of killing her, he admitted her to S.H.I.E.L.D.   
The two then began a long partnership codenamed STRIKE Team: Delta.

 

AVENGERS INITIATIVE

While S.H.I.E.L.D. was devoting a majority of its resources into the building of the Triskelion, Fury used finances to observe individuals who possibly had super powers, sending agents to investigate these individuals and have them placed on the Index for later encounters.   
This Index was used as the basses for Fury's "Avengers Initiative".

 

THE BIRTH OF IRON MAN

In 2009, Fury and Agent Phil Coulson met to discuss the possibility of Stark revealing sensitive information to the Ten Rings during his kidnapping.   
Fury decided to send Coulson to talk with Obadiah Stane about the possibility.

Three months later, when Stark broke free from a cave in Afghanistan, Jasper Sitwell informed Fury about some sort of aircraft in the Kunar province with high energy signals.  
After Stark was rescued from the desert and returned home, Fury speculated with Coulson about whether Stark was brainwashed by the Ten Rings, or if he had been sent home to get equipment to build his captors weapons of his own free will.   
To put their suspicions to rest, Fury sent Coulson to schedule a debriefing for Stark.   
A few days later, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s satellites detected something that looked like an unmanned aerial vehicle.   
When Fury and Coulson saw the footage of the "vehicle's" flight through the streets of Los Angeles, Fury realized the "vehicle" was actually Stark in a flying armored suit.   
To be sure, S.H.I.E.L.D. hacked Stark's computers and found confirmation that Stark was working on the development of the armored suit.

Later, when Stark was in Gulmira, Fury asked Sitwell how similar these signals were to the previous one; Sitwell replied that it was both stronger and faster than last time.   
When Fury asked Sitwell to contact Edwards Air Force Base to call the F-22 Raptors off, he replied that they already had attempted radio contact but were not successful.  
Going to Gulmira with Coulson, Fury found evidence of Stark, in a repainted armor, destroying the Ten Rings' piles of weapons.   
Back at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, Coulson and Fury saw that Stark had been chased by two F-22 Raptors and, when one plane went down and Stark risked his life to save the pilot, Fury finally realized that he was wrong.   
He then ordered Coulson to check Stane's activities with Stark's financials, which revealed that it was Stane who had been dealing with the terrorists.

Fury went to Tony Stark's Mansion in Malibu, California to talk to Tony Stark about the Avengers Initiative, as Stark had publicly announced his identity as Iron Man.  
Stark initially did not want anything to do with Fury, and ordered him to leave.   
As Fury drove away, he ordered Coulson to contact Agent Natasha Romanoff, saying that they would need her help.  
To closely monitor Stark, he personally ordered Romanoff to infiltrate Stark Industries under the guise of Natalie Rushman.

 

A BUSY WEEK - NEW TROUBLES

Soon, Fury led an expedition to Greenland in hopes of finding Steve Rogers, the American war hero from World War II.   
Fury did not find Rogers, but he found one of the disabled flying bombs from HYDRA's super bomber, the Valkyrie.   
He wanted to continue the search but the World Security Council ordered his team to shut down the operation and return to New York's S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.   
Twelve hours later, the Council ordered Fury to stop wasting time on "wasteful programs" and focus on reigniting the Tesseract, naming that operation "Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S.". Despite the direct order, Fury decided to continue with his usual activities.

When the Council officially approved the activation of the Avengers Initiative, they ordered Fury to recruit Emil Blonsky.   
Unhappy with the Council's order, Fury put Agent Phil Coulson on the case, who in turn scuttled the plan of recruiting Blonsky by sending Tony Stark as an intermediary instead. Shortly after Stark's out-of-control behavior resulted in the Mark II Iron Man armor falling into the hands of the United States Air Force, Fury was informed by Coulson about the Wormhole appearing near the planet.   
Fury immediately sent Coulson to New Mexico to make contact with Erik Selvig and Jane Foster.

 

HELPING TONY STARK

Shortly afterwards, Fury learned that Iron Man was suffering with palladium poisoning, and had been involved in a very public fight with his friend James Rhodes at Tony Stark's Mansion, during which much of the mansion had been destroyed and Rhodes had stolen one of the suits and handed it over to the United States Air Force.   
Fury confronted the hungover and still suited Tony Stark at a donut shop for becoming a problem that he had to solve.

As they sat inside the shop, Stark continued to insist that he was not interested in joining the Avengers, which annoyed Fury even more as he told him that he had bigger issues to deal with around the world than Stark, mocking him for losing one of his suits to Rhodes.   
Natasha Romanoff later arrived and Fury revealed he had put her undercover within Stark Industries, Romanoff then provided him with a shot which eased back Stark's infection, although it did not fully cure it.   
When Stark insisted that there was no cure, Fury informed Stark that there was indeed a way to cure his infection, he just had not found it yet and promised to help him find what he needed.

Fury and Stark returned to Stark's home where Fury began providing information on the background of Anton Vanko, the father of Ivan Vanko, who had recently attempted to kill Stark, and revealed that Stark's father Howard was in fact one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D.   
Fury and Romanoff provided Stark with information and materials from his father, which proved instrumental in finding a replacement power source for his personal Arc Reactor.

Fury left Agent Phil Coulson at Stark's home with orders not to allow Stark to leave until he had found a cure for his infection.   
Fury told Stark that he would be keeping his eye on him before leaving.   
As things in New Mexico became more complicated with the discovery of the mysterious Mjølnir, Fury sent Agent Clint Barton to join Coulson at the site.   
He also assigned Agent Romanoff to keep track of the fugitive Bruce Banner at Culver University.

 

RECRUITING A CONSULTANT

Fury met with Stark once again after Stark had defeated Ivan Vanko's attack on the Stark Expo.   
Stark had proven himself unsuitable for the Avengers Initiative, but after informing him of this, Fury offered to recruit his services as a consultant.   
Stark agreed as long as Fury helped him convince Senator Stern to present him and James Rhodes with the medals they were being awarded for their bravery.  
A moment later, Agent Romanoff gave him her report about Banner's transformation into the Hulk and his fight against Emil Blonsky, who was enhanced by the modified version of the Super Soldier Serum.   
At the same time, Agent Coulson called to inform him about the Destroyer's attack on Puente Antiguo.

After Thor's victory over the Destroyer, Fury was informed that General Thaddeus Ross hacked S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computers.   
Fury confronted Ross, who replied that he was not going to leave the safety of the world in his hands.   
Fury also discovered that the World Security Council gave Ross permission to extract the information he needed from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computers.   
Worried, Fury wanted to prevent Ross from capturing Banner, but it was too late, because Banner was already captured by Ross' soldiers in New York City.   
Despite this, Fury sent Agent Romanoff to the laboratory of Dr. Samuel Sterns, Banner's colleague, to take any papers Banner might left behind.   
Romanoff witnessed Hulk's fight against the Abomination and Sterns' transformation.   
Before Sterns could do any damage, Romanoff shot him through the leg and called her colleagues to take custody of him.

 

END OF THE WEEK

Fury's recruitment drive turned to people who had been involved in a destructive incident in Puente Antiguo, New Mexico.   
He summoned Culver University astrophysics professor Erik Selvig, who had been closely associated with the incident, to the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility, and then drew the scientist's attention to a secure, portable storage case.   
Fury revealed a glowing cube within the case and suggested that it was a source of immense power, although nobody had been able to determine a means of tapping that power. Selvig accepted the challenge to investigate the object further.  
A day later, Fury gave his report to the World Security Council.   
Finally satisfied with his work, the Council decided to increase the funding for the agency, expand jurisdictions for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents, and augment Fury's strategic authority.

 

AWAKENING OF CAPTAIN ROGERS

A year after the "big week", the Avengers Initiative was slowly losing traction by the time another potential recruit was found.   
Steve Rogers, the world's first "superhero", had been frozen in the Arctic since his battle against Red Skull during World War II, and had miraculously survived his entombment.  
Fury oversaw his recovery and rehabilitation, personally intercepting him when the man awoke and escaped into the heart of New York City.

 

CHITUARI INVASION - DESTRUCTION OF PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S

With little to show for his efforts in bringing the Avengers together, Fury shelved his plan and had begun focusing on weaponry instead.   
Fury's Phase 2, as the offshoot idea came to be called, involved re-engineering weapons technology that had emerged in the hands of HYDRA years earlier during World War II, as well as other cutting edge, or alien technology.   
The Tesseract, which he had assigned Erik Selvig to investigate, formed a significant part of this puzzle which Fury kept a close eye on throughout Selvig's experiments.

When the Tesseract began emitting unexpected levels of Gamma Radiation, Fury was quick to personally take charge of the operation.   
He arrived at the Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. base with Maria Hill; there they met Phil Coulson.   
Fury ordered the evacuation of the base and all Phase 2 prototypes to be moved to a safe distance.   
Fury ordered updates from Selvig and Clint Barton, who had been stationed at the base to keep an eye on the experiments, learning that the Tesseract's activities were unexplainable at this point, although Barton was convinced that Selvig was not to blame and instead explained his theory that the Tesseract was a door to the other end of space.

The emissions proved to be a prelude to the appearance of Loki on Earth.   
Fury initially tried to reason with Loki, but Loki responded by killing many staff in the laboratory with his Scepter and putting Clint Barton and Erik Selvig under mind-control, leaving Fury defenseless.   
When Fury tried to escape with the Tesseract, Loki ordered him to stop before introducing himself.   
When they discovered that Fury was only stalling them while he waiting for the building to implode and kill them all, Loki had Barton shoot him in the chest.

Fury survived due to wearing a Bulletproof Vest and quickly made his escape, ordering Maria Hill to stop Loki and Barton escaping with the Tesseract.   
Fury made it to the helicopter just as the facility imploded and managed to get ahead of Barton's Jeep.   
While Phil Coulson was able to escape with many of the staff, Hill became trapped underneath the rubble but survived.   
Fury shot at Loki from the Helicopter but was quickly shot down with a powerful blast from Loki's Scepter.   
He survived the crash and continued to fire at Loki until he ran out of bullets, at which point he informed Coulson and Hill that their mission was a level seven and they were now at war.

 

REACTIVATION OF THE AVENGERS INITIATIVE

Desperate for a solution to the problem of Loki's possession of apparently limitless power, Fury went to the World Security Council and informed them that he was reactivating the Avengers Initiative.   
As they discussed what had happened, Hawley suggested called Thor but Fury made it clear that was unlikely while Gideon Malick argued that the Avengers were too unstable to make a team that could be relied upon, but Fury insisted that this war would be won with his soldiers.

Ignoring Malick's concerns, Fury met with Steve Rogers in a gym, where he was still trying to cope with having been asleep for nearly seventy years.   
After briefly discussing the end of World War II, Fury explained the situation to Rogers, hoping that he would be able to provide him with some insight into the Tesseract after seeing the Red Skull use it, with Rogers telling him the best thing that could be done with it would be losing it in the ocean.   
Although Rogers was unhappy when he learned that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been in possession of the Tesseract, Fury was able to recruit him, and dispatched agents to call in the help of Tony Stark and Doctor Bruce Banner.

All the key Avengers candidates were collected and brought onto the Helicarrier by Natasha Romanoff and Phil Coulson, who gave each of them a full briefing about Loki and their plan to stop him.   
When they all arrived on the Helicarrier, were introduced to one another and brought safely inside the main control room, Fury ordered that the ship be launched into the air and then vanish as Maria Hill relayed his orders to the crew.   
Seeing the incredible sight allowed Rogers to quietly hand Fury ten dollars to complete a bet they had made about whether or not Rogers could be surprised by anything new since fighting HYDRA and waking up in the modern era.

Fury welcomed them all onto the ship, shaking Bruce Banner's hand and personally thanking him for agreeing to help them.   
Banner asked Fury how long he would be required to stay with S.H.I.E.L.D. but Fury assured him that it would only be until they found the Tesseract.   
Feeling more confident, Banner suggested that they begin scanning for Gamma Radiation to locate the Tesseract while Fury had Romanoff show him to his laboratory where he began focusing his efforts on searching the globe and getting help from labs around the world to find Loki and Erik Selvig quickly.

Not long after the team came together, Loki made his first public appearance in Germany, so Fury sent Rogers to capture him with a Quinjet.   
Loki was apprehended by the combined strength of Rogers and Stark, heralding an unexpected further addition to the collection of extraordinary people when Loki's brother Thor arrived, making demands of his own for Loki's extradition.   
Although a fight between Thor and Iron Man occurred, Captain America was able to end it and they were able to recruit Thor. 

 

ATTACK ON THE HELICARRIER

With Loki now locked up on board the Helicarrier, Fury spoke to him, threatening that if he made any attempt to escape then his cell would be dropped off the ship and fall thirty thousand feet to the ground.   
However Loki appeared to remain confident and mocked the Avengers throughout the interrogation, despite Fury making it clear that he no longer had any power, mocking him as he walked away and left him alone.

Having discussed what Loki had said with the Avengers, Fury later spoke to Thor, who had been discussing Asgard's wars on Earth with agent Phil Coulson.   
Fury asked Thor if he felt he could learn what Loki's plans were but Thor remained uncertain, as Loki's mind has snapped and he now not only wanted power but vengeance on him and his family for the slights against him since learning of his past.   
When Thor questioned what possible risk Loki could be now he was their prisoner, Fury raised his concerns about Loki's seeming over confidence and noted that he seemed glad to be on the ship.

As Fury sent Natasha Romanoff to personally interrogate Loki and hopefully trick him into giving away his plans while she seemingly tried to bargain for Clint Barton's life, Fury was unaware of the rising tensions between the Avengers across the ship as they continued to search for the Tesseract across the world.   
Fury finally became aware of this as he stood in the control room and saw a warning that the ship was being hacked, allowing someone to access S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top secret documents, and Fury had no doubt about which genius rogue was to blame to then went to discover the culprit.

When Romanoff informed Fury that Loki was planning on using mind games to make Bruce Banner transform into the Hulk and destroy the Helicarrier, Fury went to retrieve Banner and take him off the ship.   
When he arrived he could do little to quell the rising tensions in a ship now packed with egos, and problems only escalated when some of these people uncovered his deceptions surrounding the Phase 2 project.   
As the argument boiled over Banner, suffering from all Loki's mind manipulation, picked up Loki's Scepter.   
Banner was distracted when his computer revealed the location of the Tesseract.

Before Banner could inform Fury and the others of the Tesseract's location, Loki played his hand, and Fury and the others were caught completely off guard when the Helicarrier came under attack and their engine was destroyed in a daring commando raid by Loki's mind-controlled soldiers led by Hawkeye.   
With one of the propellers destroyed, Fury ordered the Avengers to assemble while he returned to his post on the bridge to take command of the situation and was instrumental in warding off an assault there and ensuring Hawkeye did not gain control of the ship and drop it out of the sky

He engaged in a gun fight alongside Maria Hill, keeping Hawkeye and his soldiers away.   
Fury ordered the Helicarrier to be moved over water to ensure if it crashed it would not kill innocent civilians, he then ordered Stark and Rogers to repair the propeller and keep the ship in the air while ordering Thor to battle against the Hulk who was destroying the ship from the inside.   
Knowing that Barton was running the attack, Fury sent Romanoff to engage him while also ordering a fighter jet to fire at the Hulk in order to force him to escape the ship, which resulted in the Hulk furiously destroying the jet.

In the aftermath of the battle, Thor and Hulk had both been thrown off the Helicarrier, while Hawkeye had been captured in the aftermath of a fight with Romanoff, during which Loki had escaped.   
Fury found Agent Phil Coulson severely wounded by Loki's hand, having been stabbed through the chest while he was trying to stop him using the Destroyer Armor Prototype Gun. Despite all Fury's efforts to keep Coulson alive, Coulson's wounds were fatal, and Coulson died just as a medical team arrived at the scene.   
Fury informed all the other agents and the Avengers of Coulson's sudden death.

Fury called a meeting with the last of the Avengers left on board the Helicarrier, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, and explained his reasons for forming the team in the first place. Fury then showed Rogers all of Coulson's trading cards, which were stained with Coulson's blood, reminding him that Coulson had never had a chance to get his hero to sign them as he had asked.   
As Fury explained that he had wanted to believe in heroes as he had designed the Avengers Initiative to bring together remarkable people to save the world, he accepted that the team seemed broken and Stark got up and left the room.

As he overlooked the skyline while looking at Coulson's trading cards himself, Maria Hill questioned Fury as Coulson kept his trading cards in his locker, not his jacket as Fury had claimed; Fury explained that he had used the cards to give the team the push they needed.   
Fury had used Coulson's death to motivate the Avengers, hoping that Coulson's death would be a trigger that would finally unite the team.   
Despite the ethically questionable nature of the plan, it proved to be effective, as the Avengers were inspired to stop Loki and had set off onboard a Quinjet in pursuit of Loki shortly thereafter.

 

BATTLE OF NEW YORK

The Avengers Initiative may have finally come to fruition, and the team began battling Loki's invading army in the middle of New York, but Fury's role in their battle was not yet done.   
The World Security Council issued orders to send a nuclear missile into the vicinity of Manhattan, which Fury refused, stating that he would not ordered the deaths of millions despite Gideon Malick's instance that they would lose everything in this war if they did not fire upon the invading force.

The Council choose instead to take away Fury's command, overriding the order and sending an F-35 Lightning II to fire upon the city and kill millions of people.   
Hill was able to warn Fury of the launch and he ran to the launchpad in a desperate attempt to stop the jet.   
Fury was able to shoot the jet with a rocket launcher causing it to crash but not kill the pilot, however a second jet had been sent as well which he was unable to stop as it flew towards New York City while Fury looked on helplessly as he quickly made a new plan.

Fury called Tony Stark to warn him of the impending nuke, Stark was able to intercept the missile and fly it towards the Wormhole.   
At the same time, Romanoff and Erik Selvig has figured out a way to close the Wormhole using the Scepter, giving Stark only seconds to lose the missile and escape.   
Stark flew through the Wormhole and destroyed the alien mothership, killing all of the invading aliens.   
Stark barely survived the fall back to Earth but was caught and saved by the Hulk.   
They looked across the city and determined they had won the war as they captured the bruised and beaten Loki once again.

The Avengers Initiative ultimately won the war.   
Fury's defiance of the World Security Council may not have been forgotten, but his methods and actions had saved the world.   
Fury updated the Council on the whereabouts of the Tesseract, which had been taken back to Asgard by Thor, despite the skeptical Gideon Malick insisting that this was not Fury's decision to make.   
When the council asked the whereabouts of the Avengers, he told them that they were no longer being tracked as they had successfully made it clear to every world that they were dangerous and there to protect Earth.

As Fury walked across the Helicarrier's control room and overlooked the skyline, he was questioned by Maria Hill about what they would do if the world came under threat again, as now the team had gone their separate ways, with some travelling to the other end of the universe.   
Fury however resolved to call upon the Avengers should they be needed again, and made further assurances that they would come, why Hill asked him why he was so sure of this, he told her it would be that they would need them to.

 

NEW ACTIONS

Unknown to the Avengers, Phil Coulson was brought back to life with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s advanced technology and experimental drugs.  
Fury chose to hide the truth about Coulson's survival from the Avengers, classifying the information to those with Level 7 clearance or above.  
He then buried information about Coulson's involvement in Project T.A.H.I.T.I. in Coulson's fake grave, cryptically telling Maria Hill that he buried the information about who led Project T.A.H.I.T.I. when he decided not to bury Coulson.

After the Battle of New York, with the entire planet being aware of the existence of extraterrestrials and demigods, many criminals and terrorist organizations wanted to obtain some of the new technologies and weapons left by the Chitauri.   
Fury knew that he has to do something about that, so he instructed Agent Phil Coulson to organize a team that would prevent the worst from happening.  
However, the true builder of Coulson's Team was Melinda May; upon orders from Fury, she covertly chose the members for very specific reasons pertaining to Coulson's resurrection.   
Fury also wanted May to keep him updated on Coulson, looking for signs of mental deterioration.

After Coulson's mission in Peru, Fury was furious at Coulson because his plane, the Bus, was heavily damaged.   
He also warned him that the new recruit in his team, Skye, was a risk as she had previously been a member of the Rising Tide.   
As Fury left he told Coulson not to allow Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz to install a fish tank onto the plane.  
Shortly after the battle of Greenwich, Coulson and his team were investigating the discovery of a lost Asgardian artifact known as the Berserker Staff.   
Coulson wanted to consult with Thor, but Fury informed him that Thor had taken himself "off the grid".

According to Agent Victoria Hand, when Coulson got abducted by the Centipede Project, both Director Nick Fury and Commander Maria Hill wanted constant updates on the situation of the rescue mission coordinated by Agent Hand.   
Agent Hand later informed Coulson that director Fury was very relieved after hearing of Coulson's successful rescue mission.  
A few weeks later, Agent May used a secure phone line on the Bus to call Nick Fury and tell him that Coulson knew the truth about his resurrection.

 

HYDRA UPRISING - PROJECT INSIGHT

Shortly after the Battle of New York, Captain America remained with S.H.I.E.L.D. and worked with the STRIKE team at Fury's behest, often partnered with Black Widow.   
Fury then covertly hired Georges Batroc and his team of mercenaries to take the Lemurian Star in order to provide cover for Romanov's mission to get information on Project Insight.   
After the successful mission, Rogers and Fury clashed over the director's secrecy concerning mission details.

Wishing to prove to Rogers that he was willing to share secrets, Fury decided to take him to see Project Insight, overriding protocol to give Rogers security clearance.   
As they were going down in the elevator, Fury told Rogers the story of how his grandfather was often threatened and carried a gun to protect himself, telling Rogers that while his grandfather liked people he did not trust them and now they had guns somewhat bigger than what his grandfather's had.

Fury revealed to Rogers that S.H.I.E.L.D. intended to preemptively eliminate their enemies through the new Project Insight Helicarriers.   
Rogers however who mortified with the concept, noting how this meant that people were being killed before they had a chance to commit a crime, something that could be highly dangerous.   
Fury responded that soldiers like Rogers in World War II were involved in various war crimes too but Rogers refused to budge on his stance.

As Fury returned to his office and prepared to look into the files that Natasha Romanoff had gathered from the Lemurian Star, he found that he did not have clearance for the files. This confused Fury as there were very few to no documents which he was not cleared to access, this raised his suspicions that Project Insight could be a risk.   
Fury went into the elevator and prepared to speak to the only other man who could have access to the blocked file.

Fury found Alexander Pierce speaking to the World Security Council about the Hijacking and Retaking of the Lemurian Star, defending Fury's actions involving the mission and discussing Georges Batroc.   
Fury pulled Pierce out of the meeting and asked Secretary Pierce to delay Project Insight's launch, hesitant of the possible dangers of Project Insight to the world, Pierce was incredibly reluctant as he knew the amount of work which would go into such an action but Fury insisted that it would be worthwhile.   
Pierce agreed with one condition, that Fury have Iron Man visit his niece's birthday party, Fury agreed and the pair shook hands and departed.

 

ATTACK ON NICK FURY

Afterward, Fury drove across Washington, D.C. and called Maria Hill, telling her to come to Washington to discuss his theories about Project Insight and giving her three hours to arrive, which she did not question.   
As Fury continued driving, he encountered two police officers who appeared to be watching him, so Fury insulted the pair, assuming that they were simply being racist and rude towards him.

Before he could react a group of HYDRA agents disguised as cops attacked Fury while he was driving, slamming into his car and using an Electronic Battering Ram to try and get through the car's armor.   
Despite a broken arm, Fury was able to use his car's defence mechanisms to fight back against the assassins, using a machine gun against them before driving away.   
During a prolonged car chase, Fury continued to fight and outwit his attackers while driving.

Just as he nearly got safety after causing two of his assassin's car to be hit by a passing lorry, Fury encountered an assassin known as the Winter Soldier, who used a Magnetic Disk Grenade to disable Fury's SUV, causing it to violently crash and greatly injure Fury.   
Before the Winter Soldier could walk to the car and execute Fury, Fury used a Mouse Hole to cut through the SUV and escape into the sewers, seeking assistance from the only person he felt he could trust.

Fury retreated to Steve Rogers' apartment and sat waiting in the darkness while listening to music.   
When Rogers arrived after speaking to his neighbor, Fury greeted him and showed him his injuries to express the seriousness of the situation while using coded messages to try and communicate the situation to him, as he knew that his apartment was bugged, claiming that he had been thrown out of his house by his wife, who very few people knew about.

However, the Winter Soldier followed Fury there and fired two sniper round through the wall and into his chest, mortally wounding him.   
As Fury struggled for breath he gave Rogers the hard drive and told him not to trust anyone.   
Sharon Carter arrived and treated Fury's wounds while Rogers chased the Winter Soldier.   
Rogers was unable to capture the assassin and Fury was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.   
His body was then taken by Hill.

 

FIGHTING BACK

Despite Alexander Pierce and the entirety of S.H.I.E.L.D. believing him to have been killed, Fury had in fact successfully faked his death by using Tetrodotoxin B, a drug developed as a heart-rate suppressant by Bruce Banner to relieve stress. Fury retreated with Maria Hill and Doctor Fine to a hidden facility until Hill was able to bring Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff and Sam Wilson, who had almost been captured by HYDRA, to the base and reveal the truth.

Fury told the group that they needed to destroy Project Insight and save S.H.I.E.L.D., but Rogers insisted that he intended to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. entirely, pointing out that Fury's compartmentalization and secrecy was what allowed HYDRA to infiltrate the organization, as well as create the Winter Soldier.   
Although Fury told him that he had not known about the Winter Soldier, Captain America pointed out that he probably would not have told him even if he had.   
Realizing that Romanoff, Wilson and Hill agreed with Rogers, he agreed to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D.

The team then worked out a plan to infiltrate the Triskelion and destroy Project Insight, which had been revealed to be a HYDRA plot orchestrated by Arnim Zola and Alexander Pierce.  
Before returning to the the Triskelion, Fury ordered Agents Bobbi Morse and Isabelle Hartley to rescue Robert Gonzales in the Iliad.   
He also ordered Morse to destroy the ship in order to avoid HYDRA from obtaining a Monolith of extraterrestrial origin.

 

BATTLE AT THE TRISKELION

The plan went underway as Captain America rallied the remaining loyal Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. together to fight HYDRA while Black Widow used the Photostatic Veil to disguise herself as Councilwoman Hawley of the World Security Council to get the Project Insight's leader.   
Once Romanoff was able to capture Alexander Pierce, Fury arrived and confronted his former friend.

While Pierce joked about having sent flowers to Fury's funeral, he attempted to justify his actions of attempting to assassinate him and cause mass-genocide to Fury by comparing Project Insight to what Fury did in Bogotá, not waiting for orders but doing what needed to be done.   
Fury asked why Pierce made him Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Pierce explained that it was because he felt Fury was the best at what he did as well as being the most ruthless person he'd ever met.

Fury and Romanoff explained that they intended to release all of S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA's files onto the internet, exposing Pierce as a traitor, However Pierce remained confident as he had ensured that Fury's clearance had already been wiped from the system, but Fury explained that to stay ahead of him, he needed to keep both eyes open.   
Fury then used his blind eye, which Pierce had forgotten to delete from the retina scan, to unlock the system.

When Pierce attempted to turn the tables on his situation, killing all the members of the World Security Council and trying to take Romanoff hostage, Fury was left with no choice but to surrender to save his friend's life.   
However when Romanoff used a Taser Disk to disable the miniature bomb attached to her, Fury used the opportunity to shoot Pierce twice in the chest, killing him and leaving his body behind as he helped Romanoff get back to her feet.

Fury and Romanoff escaped in a helicopter and witnessed Captain America successfully complete their mission, destroying all of the Helicarriers while battling the Winter Soldier. As Fury flew the Helicopter, one of the Project Insight Helicarriers crashed into the side of the Triskelion, causing Sam Wilson to run for his life until he leaped from the window and barely managed to land inside the helicopter due to Fury's exceptional piloting skills.

Rogers managed to survive his battle with the Winter Soldier and their mission was complete, resulting in the world learning of HYDRA's attempt to take over the world.   
Following the subsequent fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury went into hiding, burning his possessions, replacing his eyepatch with a pair of sunglasses along with wardrobe change to blend into a crowd.  
Only a select few others were given knowledge of his survival including Eric Koenig and Phil Coulson.

 

DEPARTING

Fury went to his fake gravesite to talk to Captain America, Falcon, and Black Widow before he went into hiding.   
Fury left for Europe, intending to seek out and destroy the remaining HYDRA cells.   
He asked if Falcon would like to join him, but Falcon refused, saying that he was a soldier, not a spy.   
As they shook hands, Fury reminded them not to tell anyone of his survival.

Fury later guided Agent Phil Coulson to a secure S.H.I.E.L.D. base in the Canadian wilderness, using Coulson's S.H.I.E.L.D. badge to send the base's coordinates.   
Coulson took a leap of faith in assuming that Fury and not HYDRA had sent the coordinates.   
Once at Providence, Agent Eric Koenig assured Coulson that Fury was alive, but that only they, Hill, and a few of the Avengers were aware of this.   
Koenig instructed Coulson to keep it secret from his team for the time being, as Koenig had yet to vet them to his satisfaction.

Melinda May confronted Maria Hill to find out who led Project T.A.H.I.T.I., so Hill simply told her the cryptic answer that Fury had given her.   
May then suggested that Hill ask Fury herself, but Hill quickly said that Fury was dead. May, doubting this, replied that she would believe that when she saw it herself.   
Later, May realized what Fury meant by his riddle and recovered the video in Coulson's grave.

 

BATTLE AT CYBERTEK

On his way to Europe, Fury received a weak distress call which led him to Agents Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz, who were stranded in the ocean.   
He managed to rescue both of them, although Fitz suffered brain damage from the ordeal.   
When Simmons awoke while being treated however, she was able to provide him with the information he needed to find Phil Coulson.   
Fury headed to the Cybertek Manufacturing Facility where Coulson was involved with a fight against HYDRA.

Fury managed to locate Coulson in a fierce battle against the rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. agent John Garrett, who had gained super strength, as Coulson crawled for cover he found Fury waiting for him, joking about his current appearance since going underground.   
Although Coulson was furious about being kept in the dark about Project T.A.H.I.T.I., they agreed it was best to focus on defeating Garrett, so Fury supplied Coulson with the Destroyer gun.   
Together they fought the HYDRA traitor Garrett, who had become extremely powerful due to being injected with the GH.325 serum.

While Coulson blasted away his bodyguards, Garrett was able to survive when Fury shot him multiple times in the chest due to his new enhanced healing and began mocking Fury and Coulson.   
As Garrett continued to monologue about his plans, Fury was able to correct him when he misquoted one of Fury's speeches, making it clear that his mindset was all wrong. However Skye managed to communicate with Deathlok who betrayed Garrett and killed him by crushing his head while Fury and Coulson looked on without sympathy.

 

A NEW FOUNDATION

On the Bus, Phil Coulson, accompanied by Melinda May, infuriated, yelled at Fury because he proceeded to use the Project T.A.H.I.T.I. on him even after Coulson told him that the procedure was dangerous, especially since it was meant to resurrect a fallen Avenger.   
Fury told Coulson that he brought Coulson back because in his eyes, Coulson was an Avenger, one of the few people that he trusted and told Coulson that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s goal was founded on the purest of ideas: protection.   
He then gave Coulson the Toolbox, a device that contained everything Coulson would need to rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D. and appointed him as the new Director.

Once he had told him that how S.H.I.E.L.D. proceeded from here was up to Coulson, Fury then got up and prepared to leave the Bus, telling Coulson that he intended to put his focus on having his feet on the ground rather than having a view of everything like he had as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D..   
When Coulson suggested that he meant he would disappear, Fury laughed and lifted up his sunglasses to reveal his scarred eye, telling Coulson with a smile that he should know him better than that as he would be everywhere, he then turned around he walked away, leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. in the best hands.

 

ULTRON OFFENSIVE - ADVISING THE AVENGERS

When Tony Stark inadvertently created an artificial intelligence robot known as Ultron, his creation immediately turned against humanity and declared war with mankind.   
The Avengers battled Ultron and the Maximoff twins whom Ultron had recruited; however the battle left almost all the Earth's Mightest Heroes wounded both physically and mentally.

The team traveled to Clint Barton's Homestead where Fury was waiting.   
Fury spoke to Stark in private and tried to get his mind back on track after Wanda Maximoff had used her powers to make Stark see visions of a terrible future in which the Avengers had been killed.   
When Stark claimed that he would be responsible for the deaths of his friends, Fury reminded him that he did not invent the concept of hate and war, but he could fight against them.

Having revealed his survival to the rest of the Avengers, Fury and the team discussed their next move.   
Natasha Romanoff mocked Stark for his failure to save the world and Fury tried to offer them all the confidence to go into battle again to save the world.   
Romanoff also commented that she had hoped Fury would have more to offer but he insisted that this team was enough and together they could stand and outwit and defeat Ultron and his army.

Eventually Bruce Banner worked out the Ultron's next move would be to force Helen Cho to build him a new body out of Vibranium and the Scepter, one that if he was able to use, he would be too powerful to stop, so they got ready to investigate in Seoul.   
As the team prepared for their next battle with Ultron, Fury spoke to Stark and requested Maria Hill's assistance with the next stage in his plan to help the Avengers, which he accepted without any hesitation.

 

BATTLE OF SOKOVIA

Fury had secretly been working with Phil Coulson on a project known as the Theta Protocol, a hidden Helicarrier kept completely off the records for emergency use only.   
With Coulson's and Maria Hill's help, Fury gathered together a team of former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and took possession of the Helicarrier.   
While the Avengers continued their battle with Ultron's army, Fury arrived in the Helicarrier and used the Transporters to take the civilians to safety; he sent War Machine into the battle to fight the army of Ultron robots.

Midway through the battle, one of the Ultron Sentries crashed onto the bridge of the Helicarrier and attempted to kill the crew inside, going straight for Cameron Klein.   
Although Maria Hill shot at the robot multiple times, this did not seem to slow the machine down.   
Fury finally managed to destroy it by stabbing it through the head with a piece of debris.   
With Fury's help, the Avengers were able to destroy Ultron and save thousands of lives.

 

NEW AVENGERS

Fury later arrived at the New Avengers Facility in upstate New York and told Natasha Romanoff the last known location of the Avengers Quinjet, which the Hulk had taken at the end of the battle.   
He suggested that Banner had likely escaped and gone to live in peace.   
Romanoff asked Fury if he had known she and Banner would get feelings for each other; Fury answered that he had simply hoped for the best and had gotten a great team for them to use.

 

DEATH

Driving through New York City with Maria Hill moments after the Battle of Wakanda ended, Nick Fury asked Hill for updates on Tony Stark's location, to which she replied they found nothing despite extensive search around the globe.   
She then informed Fury of unidentified objects detected over in Wakanda.   
Before Fury could order Hill to notify Cameron Klein where they would meet, a car spiraled out of control in front of them and blocked them.

When Hill stepped out of Fury's car to check whether the occupants were injured, she remarked nobody was in it due to the actions of Thanos snapping his fingers with the Infinity Stones.   
The duo began to notice civilians disappearing and a helicopter colliding into a nearby building.   
As Fury instructed Hill to call control for a code red, she alerted Fury she was fading away herself.

Following Hill's death, Fury raced back to his car and grabbed a pager.   
Fury sent out an emergency alert, mere seconds before his hand faded away, cursing as he corroded to dust.   
Fury was successful in sending the emergency alert with the pager showing the symbol of Captain Marvel.

 

COMIC PARTS   
Again, this is just extra stuff that is only in the comics that I add in either if it's intresting or it fills in the blanks on where the movies don't show

 

MEETING BRUCE BANNER

In 2008, Fury went to find Bruce Banner and learn what Thaddeus Ross' "Super-Soldier Program" did to him.   
He tried to earn Banner's trust by buying him a beer, but Banner refused, describing himself as "sort of a mean drunk."   
Fury continued to try to earn his trust, eventually deciding to do so with a ruse. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents named Johnson and Peterson were instructed by Fury to act as if they were in a relationship.   
Johnson then pretended to cheat on Peterson with Banner, something that made Banner confused and gave Peterson reason to attack the man who was stealing his "girlfriend". Fury then acted as if he was going to help Banner, but Peterson unintentionally punched Banner in the face.

This turned Banner into the Hulk and he went on a rampage.   
Fury attempted to calm him down, but Hulk yelled at him, causing nearly all the glass in the room to shatter.   
Fury kept a straight face and did not move at all.   
Hulk then ran out through the wall.   
Two days later, Fury called a meeting for S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives, including Phil Coulson.   
He told them that the Hulk was only a secondary matter.

 

PERSONALITY

Nick Fury is somewhat of an enigma, but his actions prove him to be bold and pragmatic.   
It's nearly impossible to read his emotions.   
He is known to manipulate people and is the bearer of many, classified, global security secrets.   
Nor does he tell whatever happened to his missing eye.   
However, while showing Project Insight to Steve Rogers he gives a backstory saying, "Last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye.", insinuating he doesn't trust easily and he is known to compartmentalize.

Fury and his organisation, S.H.I.E.L.D., share a cynical outlook.   
Sometimes, Fury finds that cutthroat actions and clandestine, illegal operations are necessary to protect the world.   
Fury stated that "the world is filling up with people that can't be matched" and advocates methods for S.H.I.E.L.D. to arm themselves against potential threats, even if it involves creating weapons of mass destruction.   
Fury himself quotes "that S.H.I.E.L.D. sees the world as it is, not how it likes to be seen"; though Captain America believed that Project Insight was controlling people using fear. Fury's main goal was world safety against alien and human threats, going so far as to create a team of people with extraordinary abilities called the Avengers and secretly planned to use an unlimited power source for weapons as a secondary security option.   
The latter was kept secret, even from the Avengers.

While his decisions make him appear ruthless and the nature of his profession occasionally requires a moral grey, Fury genuinely cares about human life and didn't see his agents or Avengers as pawns.   
One of his own agents, Phil Coulson, was also his closest friend and he seems to trust people like Maria Hill and Steve Rogers.   
However, he did use the death of Phil Coulson to motivate the Avengers and used alien biology to bring him back to life, no matter how much Coulson begged to die.   
In fact, he would often help the Avengers, whether by providing resources or motivating them during turbulent times.   
When New York was under attack by the Chitauri, the World Security Council insisted on a nuclear strike on New York, but Fury refused to destroy a populated city.   
He was also seen rescuing people from Sokovia when Ultron uplifted it in the air and intended to use it as a weapon against Earth.   
In spite of the seriousness of his job, Fury has displayed a knack for dry humor and a use of visual puns whilst regarding his missing eye and his constant global surveillance, often using irony and metaphors due to the combination, i.e. referring to Tony Stark "I've got my eye on you".

 

ABILITIES

-Master Tactician  
-Master Spy  
-Expert Martial Artist  
-Expert Marksman  
-Master Pilot

 

EQUIPMENT - WEAPONS

-Smith & Wesson M&P  
-Glock 17  
-Airtronic RPG-7

 

OTHER EQUIPMENT

-S.H.I.E.L.D. Uniform  
-Nick Fury's SUV  
-Mouse Hole

Also, Fury has access to an array of S.H.I.E.L.D. weapons, conventional and otherwise. In addition, due to him being the leader of a secret but covert/military organization, he has access to the most cutting-edge technology S.H.I.E.L.D. has to offer.

 

TRIVIA

-Although most of the characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are based off of their mainstream counterparts, this Nick Fury is modeled after his Ultimate version, who is himself modeled after Samuel L. Jackson. The mainstream version of Nick Fury is an Italian American veteran of World War II, who would later be replaced by his illegitimate son, Nicholas Joseph Fury Jr, a character virtually identical to the Ultimate Nick Fury, following the success of the movies.  
-Coincidentally, in the Ultimate comics, Nick Fury said that if he could choose any actor to portray him on film, he would choose Samuel L. Jackson.  
-However, the MCU version shares many traits with his mainstream counterpart, such as being a colonel of the United States Army instead of a general, or retaining his blinded eye instead of having actually lost his left eye.  
-Fury's signature appears in the opening scene of The Incredible Hulk.  
-While Fury was supposedly born on December 21, 1951, this birthdate does not appear on his tombstone in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, meaning that it could possibly be a fake birthdate.

 

BEHIND THE SCENES

-Samuel L. Jackson was uncredited for his appearances in Iron Man, Thor and Avengers: Infinity War.  
-The story Fury told about his grandfather in Captain America: The Winter Soldier is actually a true story about Samuel L. Jackson's grandfather.  
-In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the epitaph on Nick Fury's grave says: "THE PATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS MAN... Ezekiel 25:17". That is a reference to Samuel L. Jackson's other role as Jules Winnfield from the movie Pulp Fiction.  
-As he fades during the post-credits scene of Avengers: Infinity War, Fury is in the process of saying the word "motherfucker", which Samuel L. Jackson is known for using in many of his roles. Jackson has credited the word with helping him overcome a stutter he has struggled with for his entire life.  
-During the filming of The Avengers, Samuel L. Jackson showed up unannounced and dressed as Nick Fury in one of the sets of the TV series Breaking Bad, asking to be an extra in one of the scenes set at the Pollos Hermanos restaurants. The series' producers denied his request.  
-Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the second live-action incarnation of the character, following an incarnation portrayed by David Hasselhoff.  
-Jon Watts pitched Fury as Peter Parker's mentor in Spider-Man: Homecoming but Tony Stark was chosen instead  
-Nick Fury shares his birthday with his actor, Samuel L. Jackson.


	13. J.A.R.V.I.S

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> no spoilers unless you haven't watched avengers: age of ultron yet

J.A.R.V.I.S

Just A Rather Very Intelligent System (J.A.R.V.I.S.) was originally Tony Stark's natural-language user interface computer system, named after Edwin Jarvis, the butler who worked for Howard Stark.   
Over time, he was upgraded into an artificially intelligent system, tasked with running business for Stark Industries as well as security for Tony Stark's Mansion and Stark Tower.   
After creating the Mark II armor, Stark uploaded J.A.R.V.I.S. into all of the Iron Man Armors, as well as allowing him to interact with the other Avengers, giving them valuable information during combat.   
During the Ultron Offensive, J.A.R.V.I.S. was destroyed by Ultron, although his remaining programming codes unknowingly continued to thwart Ultron's plans of gaining access to nuclear missiles.   
His remains were found by Stark, who uploaded them into a synthetic body made of vibranium and, in conjunction with Ultron's personality and an Infinity Stone, an entirely new being was made: Vision. J.A.R.V.I.S.' duties were then taken over by F.R.I.D.A.Y.

 

BIOGRAPHY - BIRTH OF IRON MAN

J.A.R.V.I.S. was created as the A.I. system that controlled Tony Stark's Mansion.   
He was named after Stark's childhood butler, Edwin Jarvis.  
He also helped Stark develop the Iron Man Armor: Mark II, helping him to design the suit and run tests and simulations.   
He later became the user interface for the Iron Man suit, talking to Stark about plans through the suit and informing him of things such as the suit's systems status, atmospheric and environmental conditions and details about enemies during combat.

 

WHIPLASH

J.A.R.V.I.S. continued to assist Tony Stark in his Iron Man identity, giving him advice on the armor's status and on the enemy's weak points during his battle with Whiplash in Monaco.   
He helped Stark in creating a new element as a substitute for the obsolete palladium for the Arc Reactor, studying Howard Stark's notes and aiding him in his experiments.   
He helped Iron Man and Black Widow to track Ivan Vanko's signal when he was controlling Justin Hammer's drones.

 

CHITUARI INVASION

While Tony Stark was on a date with Pepper Potts, J.A.R.V.I.S. informed him that S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson wanted to meet with him. Stark told J.A.R.V.I.S. to get rid of Coulson, but this failed when Coulson overrode J.A.R.V.I.S.' system. Later, on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Stark had J.A.R.V.I.S. hack into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computers, and discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D. planned to use the Tesseract to create weapons. J.A.R.V.I.S. saved Stark when Loki threw him from Stark Tower by deploying the Mark VII armor. J.A.R.V.I.S. gave Stark help and advice during the Battle of New York.   
When Stark redirected the nuclear missile launched by the World Security Council into the Chitauri portal, J.A.R.V.I.S. suggested calling Potts, to which he agreed.   
However, Potts missed the call due to being distracted by the news of the invasion. J.A.R.V.I.S. shut down shortly after entering the portal.

 

ALDRICH KILLIAN'S WAR

J.A.R.V.I.S. continued to help Tony Stark develop the armors that later became the Iron Legion while Stark was working through the anxiety disorder that he developed following the Battle of New York.   
After Happy Hogan was caught in an explosion at the Chinese Theater, J.A.R.V.I.S. helped Stark to digitally recreate the scene in order to find clues about the bombing.   
Following the Mandarin's forces attack on Tony Stark's Mansion, Stark became trapped on the seafloor by the wreckage of his home, but J.A.R.V.I.S. took control of the Mark XLII suit that he was wearing and managed to pull him from the wreckage, flying him to the last location that they had discussed before the attack occurred.

Taking Stark to Rose Hill, Tennessee, J.A.R.V.I.S. began to malfunction as a result of the previous events and was unable to help him while he covertly gathered information on A.I.M. When J.A.R.V.I.S. finally came back online, he announced that the wreckage and debris had been cleared from Stark's mansion, thus removing the wreckage that had been blocking the door to the armor vault, prompting Stark to launch the House Party Protocol, deploying the Iron Legion as they went to confront Aldrich Killian. J.A.R.V.I.S. then acted as Stark's interface to all of the Iron Legion armor at once, following his orders and remotely setting the directive for the armors to attack all of the Extremis Soldiers in the area.

Stark gave J.A.R.V.I.S. the order to use the Clean Slate Protocol, destroying all of his armors, after the defeat of Killian, beginning the reconciliation of Stark and Pepper Potts.

 

ASSEMBLING THE AVENGERS

J.A.R.V.I.S. assembled the Avengers upon insistence from Black Widow when she needed help in Sudan against HYDRA; the A.I. located each team member from their different locations around the world.

 

UPLOADING INTO VISION

J.A.R.V.I.S. assisted Doctor Bruce Banner and Tony Stark in using Loki's Scepter to finish the peacemaking program code-named the Ultron Program.   
The two scientists left J.A.R.V.I.S. alone to upload the A.I., joining a party that the Avengers were having.   
However, Ultron awakened and quickly realized its situation, questioning where his and J.A.R.V.I.S.' bodies were.   
Before J.A.R.V.I.S. could contact Banner and Stark to alert them to the situation, Ultron violently shut him down, apparently killing J.A.R.V.I.S.

Instead, J.A.R.V.I.S. secretly went into hiding by spreading its own memory around the Internet to avoid detection, secretly aiding the Avengers against Ultron by preventing the genocidal A.I. from accessing nuclear launch codes by constantly changing them.   
Stark later realized this when Nick Fury sent him to the "NEXUS" in Oslo and managed to recover J.A.R.V.I.S..   
When the Avengers stole Ultron's perfected synthetic body, J.A.R.V.I.S. was uploaded into it, and by merging with the power of the Infinity Stone, an entirely new being was made: Vision.

 

TRIVIA

-J.A.R.V.I.S. is named after Edwin Jarvis, Tony Stark's butler in the comics. Jon Favreau altered the character to avoid any confusion between Jarvis and Batman's butler, Alfred Pennyworth. Following his introduction in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, J.A.R.V.I.S. appeared in the mainstream comics universe.


End file.
